David in Oz - A bicycle ride around Australia 2007-08, and life thereafter?

It's all over - Back home again in Caithness 16/09/08

2008-09-17T11:28:00.007+01:00

In my previous posting I rode from Fremantle to Waikiki, where my hosts for the final weekend live. I stayed with Andrew and Joanne Hooker, who are very keen bicycle tourers and as it turned out, great hosts. Have a look at their very readable website http://www.where2pedalto.com/ which describes their epic cycling adventures on recumbents. My tour ended on a high note thanks to their great warmth, friendliness, practical help and not least Joanne's wonderful and wonderfully-frequent cooking, which certainly allows for a touring cyclists' predictably-large appetite.

Whilst I've met hundreds of very friendly and supportive Australians on my travels here, nothing beats exchanges between like-minded long-distance cyclists like ourselves, who have both endured occasional severe hardships whilst experiencing great joy in what we do, and I don't think I've ever talked quite so close to exhaustion as all this weekend. I learnt an awful lot from Andrew and Joanne that will help frame any future expeditions I might undertake (and I very well might!!). Apart from the chat I also enjoyed watching their video footage of their most recent ride from Alaska down to the Carribean coast, which inspired more discussion. I also got a shot on Andrew's recumbent up and down the street, and must say they are very comfortable and practical in some ways, but on the whole I think I still prefer an 'upright' for various reasons.
Andrew drove me to the nearest cycle shop to pick up a cardboard bike box, and on the Saturday afternoon we broke the bike down and packed the bits in the box. It was quite a squeeze just like on the way out here, and we made sure that any sharp bits sticking towards the sides of the box - such as the hub ends - were reinforced so as not to stick through. Andrew also made some dowels to fit between the fork and drop-outs to prevent bending and damage. I still had too much stuff to pack as it turned out, and even though I discarded some of the less-wanted items and packed my rucksack (hand baggage) to the hilt, it still left the box weighing nearly 30kg. I decided to wing it rather than discard more - I could perhaps do this at the airport if necessary. The 32l rucksack fairly swallowed up a lot of stuff but weighed nearly 10kg (7kg only allowed) - I'll try and wing that too.
Despite wanting to extend my stay at mein hosts after a wonderful and stimulating weekend, they kindly drove me and the baggage to Perth airport after dinner on Sunday, in good time before my flight to London. The lady at the check-out desk was very helpful, but eventually confirmed that I would have to both pay $110 for having rebooked the flight some time back (I knew about this but was a little annoyed because the online booking system had not allowed booking of the return flight in one years time) AND for any excess baggage over 25kg i.e. nearly 5kg at $80/kg - ouch! However she pointed out that I could try and transfer some items from hold to hand baggage, which I went away and tried to do. However whilst I was pondering how to 'lose' a few kg the very friendly airline supervisor came over and kind of hinted that if I just removed 1kg from the (29.5kg) bike box this would be OK, and having done this I was issued with boarding card - YESS! Actually, I later observed that some of the more obese passengers must have weighed a good 30kg more than me without penalty.....but hey, I don't wanna be negative!
My flight left on time and after a quite pleasant and well-fed 7 hours we touched down in Hong Kong, where after only 2 hours wait (and a frustrated trying in vain to get the Dell Axim PDA to pick up the free WiFi broadband) the London flight left. Both flights arrived bang on time and I managed to get a few hours shallow sleep on each leg. I can really recommend Cathay Pacific - this is the second time I've flown to Oz with them and it has been hassle-free, punctual and the cabin service is excellent.
Getting from Heathrow to Euston Station was a bit of a nightmare. Whilst the rucksack was easy to carry on my back, obviously the near-30kg box was not liftable, big and awkward. From the carousel to the train was OK since I had the box on a luggage trolley, and as the underground train was quiet at the start of the line I had no problem dragging the box into the carriage, albeit that it was kind of blocking the way a bit. I had to change trains at Green Park for the Victoria line to Euston and by the time we'd reached the former the train was heaving in the peak of the Monday rush-hour, and I had to literally and somewhat rudely push through the crowd to get the box out. People didn't seem to understand that this was awkward to do and many didn't move, seemingly blanking me out. Once on the platform I had to push the box along the (thankfully) slippery floor for 200m, then another 300m along a corridor leading to the other platform. As I neared the Victoria Line a flight of some 30 steps loomed ahead of me, but mercifully a young man eventually took pity on me and gave me a hand (most folk again just looked the other way). The second train soon arrived and I had to literally lunge with the box onto the train to overcome the lack of willingness to let me get on first by all those around me (what's wrong with these people??). Same again, it was terrible trying to get off with everyone packed like sardines, and people being so grumpy about it (I now know why I hate living in a city). Lastly, I had to push for another 500m and up 3 escalators (which was fun looking at people's faces!) before finally arriving in the teeming Euston Station concourse. Next time I swear I will do this differently; I'm getting too old for all that hassle!
I now had 3 hours to wait for the night sleeper so took my time to choose from the many eating places what to have for dinner. There are croissant, pie, burger, fish and chips, sandwich and pastie stalls (to mention but a few) with delicious-looking (and inexpensive) fare displayed, and I finally plumped for a chicken salad baguette and steak and stout Cornish pastie, which (the latter) was particularly and tastily awesome. Around 2045 the nightly sleeper was ready for boarding - I had just booked a reclining seat (£31 single to Inverness) as I have trouble sleeping in a berth. As it turned out there were plenty of spare seats and I grabbed two together which allowed me to lie down, somewhat uncomfortably, but enough to allow me to sleep most of the way to Edinburgh Waverley. There was a buffet car next door which stayed open all night, and I was amazed to only have to pay £1 for coffee; prices must have been reduced since the last time when I payed over £2 as I recall. The train arrived in Inverness at 0840, some 20 minutes late, and pretty soon I was with Lyn and a lovely warm reunion.
We did a little shopping and ate a full Scottish breakfast at Morrison's supermarket in Alness and arrived at Lyn's home, where I will stay for a while, by 1300. I was as expected feeling very weary and stiff after this long journey and was happy to just lay back and relax. I have 2 weeks before starting back at work so plenty of time to recover and brace myslef for the 'real world' again.
Next morning a reporter from the local paper, the John O'Groat's Journal, phoned to ask a few questions about the trip and how I felt now, and I have to say it was nice to remember and reflect in response to questions about it. No doubt that I will miss the enjoyment and freedom of travelling, but I'm sure one day I will do something like this again. I would like to do it with Lyn if she feels up to it; I'll have to discreetly encourage her.....whilst I quite like travelling alone it is nice to share what you see with another, a loved one...

Freemantle to Waikiki

2008-09-13T12:50:00.001+01:00

Fri 11th September 2008
Cloudy, rain, 21 deg C

After a slow breakfast I took down the tent after placing all my stuff on a covered table ready for sorting. It had rained a little in the night and I didn’t want anything getting wet this morning. I packed a cardboard box with those things I’d decided to send home in a parcel, which is much cheaper than paying excess baggage charges. I’d chosen the size of box very well and everything fitted in perfectly; mostly camping and cooking gear plus the tent. I had thought I might dump the latter because it’s had a hard life, but I figure I can effect some repairs when I get home so as to give it another lease of life. It has served me very well Iguess, justifying it’s $530 price tag.
I loaded up the bike for the last time and tied the box on top of the rear rack and trundled down to Freo and the Pack and Send shop. Cost of shipment was $272 (£136) airfreight, and it should be home soon after me.
With lightened load I set off to Andrew and Joanne’s place in Waikiki, Rockingham, some 35km south. It was a pretty foul day with regular squalls of blustery rain battering into me from the SW, i.e. to the front or on the right side, and quite cold except when the sun made it out for a few minutes at a time. The highway down to here was pretty busy but there’s a reasonable shoulder most of the way.
Andrew and Joanne cycled around Australia in 2003 and wrote a book about the experience, which I bought and have found very useful indeed - check out their website at http://www.where2pedalto.com/ for info about all their travels and the book. We had a lovely evening discussing our respective rides and comparing notes. It’s odd that we have camped almost in the same spots on occasions. It’s so enjoyable being with such like-minded people.

DAY 5 off in Freemantle

2008-09-13T12:48:00.001+01:00

Thurs 10th September 2008
Cloudy, rain, 21 deg C

A lazy kind of day apart from sorting stuff and organising my exit; wandering around Freo and feeding my face. The caravan park is a very friendly place, and there are quite a few folk staying here for several days like myself which is good; we've got to know each other quite well. The ride has attracted a lot of interest, yet now that it’s over I find that it isn’t in my mind very much at all; I can’t explain that. When I do think about it I can only remember the good things and the hard or unhappy moments seem lost. I do think though that I would like to do another big ride someday, perhaps in a few years.

DAY 4 off in Rottnest Island

2008-09-11T05:12:00.004+01:00

Weds 10th September 2008
Sunny, 21 deg C

I got down to the ferry terminal too early for the 0930 ferry since my watch was 15 minutes fast for some reason - good job it wasn’t the other way around. The boat gets accross to Rotto in 25 minutes and goes very quickly, fairy skimming over some big waves; I think it’s probably a hovercraft.

On arrival at the main (only) settlement on Rotto it was drizzling lightly, and felt very cool - I didn’t fancy riding the 20 or 30km around the island cold and damp - but it cleared a bit so off I went, and in fact although it was overcast for a few hours it didn’t rain much again.There are virtually no vehicles allowed on the island other than for repairs and maintenance, and it was bliss not to see any at all, all day, other than the tour bus once every half hour. Many peope hire or take their own bikes, and it’s very safe cycling. I bought a few snacks at the well-stocked bakery and watched the Quokkas (small rat-like marsupials common to Rottnest) bumming food off the punters. One was feretting around in a mothers bag which was stashed under her toddler’s trolly but she didn’t seem bothered; weird. I didn’t see any out ‘in the wild’ but I’m sure they’re there somewhere.

The ride around was a delight, with a succsession of little white sandy beaches appearing between weirdly-shaped rocky little limestone cliffs, and I think I must have stopped to have a look at all of them. The sea was a beautiful shade of blue, especially once the sun came out at around 1300, and with the deserted white beaches, very photogenic. The road undulates over the sand dune system as usual, but there are no difficult hills. The road is the usual double lane, just for the buses I guess.

I cycled around 35km around the little island. I enjoyed Rottnest very much, and given good weather I wouldn’t have any trouble spending a few days here. I’m sure it’s very much busier in the summer though, which might detract from it’s appeal, for me at least.

It rained some more in the evening and felt very cold to me, so lots of layers on again.

DAY 3 off in Fremantle

2008-09-11T05:12:00.003+01:00

Tues 9th September 2008
Sunny, 21 deg C

Didn’t do too much today apart from wander around Fremantle and sit around in the warm sunshine - gather ye rosebuds whilst ye may - I’ll be back in the UK this time next week!
In the morning I visited the WA Maritime Museum, a huge modernistic building on the harbour front; free admission. There is a lot to see including plenty about the history of boats and ships in this area starting way back with the first presumed visitors before European settlement, including how they were built out of whatever materials were to hand. Among the boat exhibits are examples that have made history by winning major races or sailing around the world single handed, as well as local ferries and such that were retired here after long service. I hadn’t fully appreciated the deep and long connection between boats and Fremantle, although it’s clearly evident from the thousands of yachts moored around here that it’s hugely popular as a berth. The wind here too lends itself to sailing with the reliable ‘Fremantle Doctor’ - a persistent and fresh SW/W wind that also cools the place down during the hot summer.
I had a disappointing lunch at the Pure and Natural cafe in the mall; the rolls looked delicious in the counter but when it finally arrived it had been utterly flattened in the toaster, far beyond the normal gentle searing. And the latte was horrible - without any foam, just white insipid liquid which went straight back for a refund. I should have taken the roll back too but suffered it through. This is very unusual in my experience in Oz where the quality of the food (well, away from some roadhouses) has been very good. It had been clear that the woman serving me didn’t know what to do; she was fiddling about with the coffee for ages.
I corrected the error with a proper latte from around the corner along with some very nice carrot cake, so all’s well that ends well lol. I also checked out where to get the ferry over to Rottnest Island, and finished up booking for tomorrow. Later on I wandered up the Swan River again, finding even more little jetties and places I hadn’t seen the other day. This is a great p-lace to explore by bicycle.
After a leisurely beer at a riverside pub with my new novel (Jessica by Austraian author Bryce Courtenay - a great read) it started a bit cooler so I started to head home. I had another wander around the nicely restored fishing harbour and found a Baskin-Robbins ice cream place - how did I miss that? Actually, although I had to have a 2-scoop sundae for old times sake it didn’t go down as well as at Darwin where it was much hotter. It’s the same with iced coffee too - after craving for all those hot months, they just don’t have the same appeal now that it’s coolish. It’s warm enough between say 10 and 4, but outside these times I’ve had to add a layer of clothing or two. It’s often a relief to get into my sleeping bag at night.

DAY 2 off in Fremantle / Perth

2008-09-09T06:37:00.008+01:00

Mon 8th September 2008
Sunny, 20 deg C

Spent the morning organising my departure - particularly, the most cost-effective way of getting my excess baggage home. I only have a 20kg allowance and the bike weighs around 19, plus I have another 20kg or so of stuff. I’ll probably risk getting away with 25kg in the bike box, and send a 10kg parcel back, leaving around 7kg hand luggage - the maximum allowed. It will cost about $240 (£120) for the parcel with a local shipping company, who will also supply a customs declaration form C4 which will hopefully avoid me paying import duty and VAT on stuff that I brought with me - otherwise I would get clobbered for this again on goods which will be worth around £500.I also bought a new Deuter rucksack - 32 litre capacity which I was informed is the maximum size allowed as hand luggage, so I can make full use of that 7kg allowance. It was $180 (£90) but I will be able to use it once home too. The last rucksack I had was a Deuter too, and it lasted for many years - I finally threw it out at Edith Falls when the zip gave up the ghost.

I’ve also got the telephone nos. of a couple of bike shops near to where my hosts for next weekend, Andrew and Joanne, stay, so I can hopefully collect a box on Friday and pack the bike over the weekend. I shall make up the 10kg box by Friday and drop it off at the shipping company here at Freo before leaving for there’s.

After all that I had a good lunch and spent the afternoon sightseeing around Freo. It is a very pleasant and somewhat Bohemian town with lots of character; old buildings nicely restored, and plenty to see and do, and it’s easy to get around on the cycleways. There are some interesting craft shops which I had a good browse around, managing to get some presents at last; things that don’t take much space or weight up. Cafes abound, and there must be a hundred at least. I also did some succesful haggling and got 10% discount lol.

A disabled guy, Scott, in a wheelchair, stopped me to comment on my not wearing a helmet, and I listened to how he was hit by a car as a pedestrian and brain-damaged. He was concerned that the same might happen to me, and I had to agree he was probably right - I have worn a helmet religiously on this tour, but didn’t bother today for just a short while. I will probably wear one all the time back home in future now that I’m used to it.

The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and cycling along the river, out on the breakwater etc. and anothet sociable evening in the campers kitchen.

DAY 1 off in Fremantle / Perth

2008-09-09T06:37:00.006+01:00

Sun 7th September 2008
Sunny, 21 deg C

A much more peacefu night at this CP thanfully, and a lie-in until the tent warmed up i.e. well after 8. I cycled down to Fremantle station and only had to wait a few minutes for a train. It’s easy peasy to take your bike on the train; there are a couple of bays in every carriage where it fits in nicey without flopping around. There were plenty of people with bikes on the train, and I got chatting to a guy with his 2 kids who cycled part of the Munda Biddi 500km trail, which was interesting - I had thought about doing some of this.
I had sussed from my Perth bicycle lanes map that it woud be simpler to get to King’s Park by getting off at the penultimate station, Perth West, and from here there’s a bicycle lane than goes most of the way to the park. It’s less than 2km, but up a steep hill, however the height affords a great view of Perth city centre and the Swan River. It was a perfect sunny day and so good for snapping piccies.
Kings Park was very busy, and this is Father’s Day in Oz so there were plenty of folk out for the day, and lots of dads with new jocks and socks lol. I spotted a familiar tree - the huge Boab that passed me on the road to Kununura a few weeks ago, stopping all the traffic on the way. I think it was ‘available’ as it had to be removed to make way for a road (in Darwin?), so the King’s Park authorities snapped it up, and presumably paid heavily for the 2000km journey with 1 police and 2 other escorts. Hopefully it will survive the colder and damper climate down here. The birds in the park are prolific and diverse, and I heard plenty of calls that I didn’t recognise. I may have another day here this week when it’s quiter and try and identify some of them.
Soon after a hot dog and muffin and latte lunch the sound of Irish music wafted across the park, and I homed in on a 3-piece band playing one of my favourite songs - Danny Boy. They made a very good and passionate job of it, and caused a tear in my eye; beautiful. I was hooked after that, and they played 3 sessions over the afternoon sprinkled with many Irish classics; they gave a great, modern rendition of Molly Malone.
During the afternoon I met a couple who were keen cyclists, and we had a long exchange about touring by bicycle. The lady (forgot names as usual) said she has always wanted to cycle around Oz, so I gave her my card with the website details on. She had a bad accident last week whilst mountain biking and her arm was in a sling, but she has no intention of stopping cycling; she gets such a buzz from it. If they read this please remind me of your names and my apologies for forgetting! It all capped a very nice day for me.
Train ‘home’, cool evening, put more clothes on, cooked dinner of pasta and tuna (what else), sociable evening with 3 young Italian tourists. Good day...

DAY 318: Fremantle to Perth - THE END!!

2008-09-07T03:00:00.003+01:00

Sat 6th September 2008
40km @ 14.2 km/hr
Sunny, 20 deg C
Elevation of destination 5m
Distance to date 19563 km (12227 miles)

Today I’m riding to the Perth City YHA, the place I started from on 6 October last year, so as to ‘complete’ the circuit of Australia.
My much looked-forward to 5 days slumming in Fremantle and Perth got off to a bad start last night though. Some youngsters who had rooms either side of mine got drunk, or drugged or whatever, and made lots of noise. To be honest the old hostel building can’t absorb sound very well and you can hear everything that’s going on, however these 4 made no attempt to tone it down, and the racket and lots of noisy pacing to and fro over the squeaky floor outside my door went on until dawn. I only finally fell asleep at around 5 after politely asking them to hush up twice, but to no avail. The room I’m in is pretty unpleasant when you weigh it up too. It’s only just big enough for a double bed yet the ceiling is very high, giving it an odd chlostrophobic feel. It’s the lack of sound insulation that’s the killer though, and I knew I couldn’t stay here another night, despite having paid 5 nights in advance. The kitchen is right underneath too, and I could hear people cooking and banging pans around into the middle of the night after getting in from the pub.
Assoon as the office opened at 8 I went to see the manageress, who was quite unsympathetic, despite me pointing out that there was no night manager here to sort things out, and no telephone no. that guests can ring if there’s trouble. However she agreed in the end not to penalise me by making me forfeit a second nights charges and I got credited for the 4 remaining nights. After all this I felt pretty washed out and deflated on my ‘last’ day of the tour, but a nice steady run along the river into Perth would settle me. Except the poor maps I have have deceived me, and as it turned out only the last few km of the 20km to the city are on proper bike paths.
But I’m ahead of myself. On escaping from Colditz I decided to try a caravan park 3km SE of Freo instead, and as it looked OK I booked in for tonight ($25). I set the tent up and then headed off to ride to Perth. The route around the north of the Swan River seemed more direct and I had to start off on the very busy Stirling Highway, which was awful. Twice I turned off the highway to try and pick up a riverside track but there wasn’t one, so I rode around 12km over some very steep hills all for nothing, having to get back onto the highway again, or rather on the highway pavement which was the only safeish place to be for a cyclist! It wasn’t fun at all, and it took me well over 2 hours to get to Perth. It should have been 25km from the caravan park to the city but I covered 40, and they were hard won. I was soooo glad to see the Swan River again and it’s prefectly-constructed cycleway havens.
I went straight up to Wellington Street and The City YHA Hostel, and leaned the bike up against the wall in the same place as at the start, remembering that it had actually fallen over with a bang that day before I’d even started. It would have been lovely to have been met by someone but of course no-one knew who the hell I was, so I had to ask a passer-by to take the photo, just as I had the first time lol. He did seem interested in my explanation as to what I’d been up to, but with a quizical gaze as much as to say “is this guy normal?”. Actually I’m happy to have that dubious quality questioned! What’s normal anyway?
I celebrated as planned with a good lunch - a delicious crab and prawn baguette and wicked Danish pastry and 2 large capuccinos, and then had a cycle-wander around the city, a kind of random lap of honour....
No way was I riding back to Freo - it was a 25 minute train journey instead, and I’ll be coming and going this way again tomorrow too. The tour is officially over; the obective succesfully completed; I have ridden all the way around Australia for 19563 km (12227 miles) without using any other means of transport (but with a great big thank you to my friend the SE wind, without which this would have been much harder.) I'm very greateful too for the hundreds of folk I have met over the year that have hosted me, given me food, or just words of encouragement. There are some very special people out there, and those whose e-mail address I have I will contact individually once home.
On my return to camp I had a very sociable evening in the kitchen with several other happy campers, and plenty of passionate discussion of the places in Oz that we liked best.

DAY 317: Quinn’s Rocks to Fremantle

2008-09-05T14:13:00.005+01:00

Fri 5th September 2008
62km @ 13.4 km/hr
Sunny, 21 deg C
Elevation of destination 5m
Distance to date 19523 km (12202 miles)

What with light rain overnight and a dewy morning everywhere was pretty wet early on. I had nothing in for breakfast so just got packed up and ate on the way at the cafe up the road. I didn’t mention that I have thrown away the tin of milk powder - I suspected that it might have got contaminated and was giving me the trots - and in fact for 5 days since, I’ve been OK. Fingers crossed. I had been topping up the same large tin from bags of powder that work out cheaper than another tin, and perhaps the constant warming up and cooling of the tin and inevitable introduction of dampness has caused the lot to go off. Maybe I shoud have known, but if it was this problem the contents always smelt OK.
The first 15km today is on Marmon Road, which was very busy, but there’s a cycle lane most of the way and where there isn’t there’s a wide shouder. I had a nice surprise when a Ute stopped ahead of me, and it was the lovely couple who had invited me for lunch at the rest area near Kalbarri a few weeks ago! It was nice to see them again, and they are the kind of couple who effuse warmth and make one feel very special - what a great quality that is.
I knew that a cycle track on the sea front began at Mullaloo, and when I was close I turned off right and weaved through a housing estate for 2km down to the sea, and sure enough found the track. This was to last for about 40km i.e. all the way to Fremantle, athough it kind of disappears around Cottesloe for a short spell. Here I found myself approaching a busy town on a busy road so just headed west again and refound the sea and the cycleway.
I stopped for a very nice toasted panini for lunch about 10km from Freo, but that last few km took ages. The fresh SW wind got even stronger as the afternoon wore on and in the end I was unable to maintain 10 km/hr on the flat. I also went the wrong way, not seeing a sign for the city centre, and instead finishing up deep in dead-end dockland, and had to double back. It was a much harder day than the 'just coasting into Freo' day that I had anticipated.
First impressions of Freo are positive; it’s got quite an ‘alternative’ culture with street buskers and unusual shops. It’s a relatively old town by Oz standards, with buildings close together rather than sprawling far apart as in many places here. I’ve booked 5 nights at the YHA which is right in the centre of the city. Internet access is very fast and only $10 for 3 hours, and I finally figured how to upload as it was not straightforward at first. The hostel is quite old and a bit tired-looking, but everything is here that I need. I had dinner prepared for me tonight for a change - a NZ guy, Ritch, asked did I want to share his beef stew, and we had a good feed since he made quite a panfull. Nice, and he even provided the wine! I’ll have to return the compliment soon.

DAY 316: Yanchep NP to Quinn’s Rocks

2008-09-05T10:35:00.002+01:00

Thurs 4th September 2008
38km @ 9.4 km/hr
Sunny, 23 deg C
Elevation of destination 8m
Distance to date 19461 km (12163 miles)

Another perfectly peaceful night in the bush - probably my last, this trip at least. There was a very heavy dew again, but I wasn’t planning a quick departure so there was time to get the tent dried off in the sun before packing up. There were plenty of feathered friends around; most vociferous was the Kookaburra, but very noticeable were unidentified birds with a call just like a telephone ringing US-style i.e. one long ring repeated. At first I thought it was someone passing with a mobile!

I got going around 10, braced for a hard hour getting back to the Yanchep NP ‘centre’. It was just as tough as coming out here with some very hard pushes up steep little boulder-strewn inclines. When dragging the fully-laden bike over a fallen tree I managed to snap off the underside PET bottle cage - good job I don’t really need it any more this trip now I’m just about in urban territory again.

I spent until 1400 exploring more of what’s on offer around the park, and there’s quite a lot to see; flowery walking trails, a wetland walking / cycling trail around Loch MacNess, limestone gorge and caves, some oldish listed buildings, lots of amazing trees and plants, kangaroos, and Koalas, and there’s plenty of interpretive signs explaining all about the flora, fauna and geology. It’s all very nicely done, helped by the relative maturity of this long-established park I guess, and well worth a day’s visit. I saw a lot more of the Black Cockatoos all over the park and by the highway later on, and the park signs call them ‘Carnaby’s Cockatoos’; I think this must be a local name for them since this name is not listed in Simpson and Day, and they look like Short or Long-Beaked Black Cockatoos to me. I’m now not sure which; they’re very similar.

I had a good lunch of Nachos con carne at the Chocolate Box tearooms but resisted buying another bag of Rocky Road which got quickly demolished yesterday; plenty of treats to come in Freo and Perth lol....And apparently the ‘Ghost House’ was so named simply because it was never lived in after being painstakingly built in the 30’s - so no ghosts actually reported then. And Loch MacNess was named after an early benefactor who supported the parks initial development, an immigrant from Scotland of that surname (I’ve never heard of that name before and had thought it was an invention).

After a great morning it was back on the job and facing up to the busy Wanaroo Highway again, but thankfully the authorites have seen fit to provide a bitumen shoulder from Yanchep south, so it was a bit more relaxing to cycle on. NB/ a map of the area showed a coastal road from the coastal town of Yanchep down to Quinn’s Rocks with a note that it would be available from June 2008, however the information centre told me it is not yet complete, but is now expected to be open in October 2008. This would eliminate the highway altogether.

After 16km on the highway I was able to turn off for QR, which is 3 or 4km more. I headed to the only caravan park here ($18/nt) since there’s no bush left any longer to camp in, and managed to find a sheltered place to pitch in the face of a strong SW wind which had quite a cold edge to it. It definitely feels like winter down here now as soon as the sun starts to get low in the sky.

I cycled 2km along a coastal cycle track to have a look around, and noted some amazing houses on a prestige marina / housing complex where some of the (presumably) multi-million dollar homes had huge boats moored at the back - the type of boat that can probably cross all the world’s oceans - and this must be where the rich and famous of Perth / WA shack up. It was very tasteful though and not developed in a vulgar manner as can be the case. From there I headed uphill and around the edge of the town centre and bought some dinner to save cooking out in the cold when I get back.

DAY 315: Lancelin to Yanchep NP

2008-09-05T10:34:00.001+01:00

Weds 3rd September 2008
83km @ 13.7 km/hr
Sunny, 24 deg C
Elevation of destination 4m
Distance to date 19423 km (12139 miles)

Didn’t sleep well last night for various reasons, so felt a little weary this morning. I didn’t see anyone at breakfast - the young ‘uns were presumably still in bed, and I left just after 9.
After calling at the excellent bakery for ‘emergency snacks’ for the day (2 megabuns), I spent the first 8km plodding up the hill out of town against the wind, which got me off on a bad foot. In fact despite the forecast of NE winds, which would have helped me along, the wind was mostly on the side E/SE and no help in difficult terrain.
All the way to Nanchep NP i.e. all day, the road undulated with some longer and some steeper climbs. It seemed interminable, and the quite heavy traffic and lack of a decent shoulder added to my woes. I got heartily sick of vehicles whooshing by me, sometimes close, and long before I reached my destination I was ready to call it a day. The key issue is the consequent almost contnuous double white lines in the centre of the road - with little shoulder, traffic was pushed towards me all the time. The scenery is pretty monotonous too; coastal scrub / Banksia. There were a couple of rest areas but the tables were unshaded and so pretty useless for my purposes. I did stop in a small shady wood, but got attacked by mozzies and had to dig out the spray. If ‘doom and gloom’ is coming across to the reader, well, that’s just how it seemed; I couldn’t raise any motivation at all today.
I did see a flock of Black Cockatoos - not the usual red-tailed variety but with white patches on their cheeks, and heard more Kookaburra’s than I had in a long time too, not to mention the reappearance of the 28’s (Austrailian Ringneck or Port Lincoln Parrots), which provided some distraction from the tedium. I think too that in my mind I’ve finished this tour now that I’m so close to Perth, and I’m left with a feeling of anticlimax, which may have affected my mood today. I’m only 60km from Freo / Perth after today.
Finally I saw the sign for the Nanchep NP and thankfully turned off. It’s about 1km to the cntre of the park complex, comprising Ranger HQ, visitor centre, and yessss! a cafe that was open!! The latter was my first port of call, not having seen a shop or cafe since leaving Lancelin, and after marvelling at all the hand-made chocolates on display I ordered a Devonshire tea.It was OK but on the small side, so this was a good excuse to go and buy a bag of Rocky Road from the chocholatier to top up calories, which was utterly gorgeous. This is all it takes to change my mood around - sad or what?!
I’d heard there was a campsite in the park somewhere, and on enquiring I found out it was 5km up a walking track. The ranger thought it would be OK for me with the bike, so I decided to give it a go since I still had 2 hours of daylight left.
The first 2km of the trail were reasonable, but after that there were some tough rocky bits and steep uphills where I had to push, but that far in I was committed, and I just pressed on. It was very tough, taking over an hour for the 5km, and I was pouring in sweat on arrival at the Ghost House (an old ruined cottage adjacent to the camping area). There was, of course, no-one else camping here, so I chose my spot and set up. Pretty soon I was enjoying a mug of Semillon and wondering what all the stress today was about as usual (should have faith man!!).
The wildlife is pretty concentrated in this NP, and I’ve seen plenty of ‘Roos, Kookaburra’s and lots of other birds I haven’t identified (what IS the species that calls “pretty, pretty, pretty” all the time? YES - YOU ARE PRETTY, I'VE TOLD YOU!!!).
There’s a large lake in the centre of the park facilities area called Loch MacNess (!), and I must try and find out tomorrow how it got its name as well as getting the story behind the Ghost House (don’t want to know tonight since I’m camped near to it).
The remarkable resonant call of frogs or toads dominates the background as I write, but I haven’t seen what’s making the noise yet.
The last pic is of the Ghost House; the red flowers were growing from a tree blown over onto its side.

DAY 314: Day off in Lancelin

2008-09-02T14:05:00.002+01:00

Tues 2nd September 2008
Sunny, 24 deg C
Elevation of destination 5m
Distance to date 19340 km (12087 miles)

Just a pleasant day chilling out, doing very little apart from lazing around in the sun and eating. They have a few hammocks strung outside here at the YHA and I read for most of the morning swinging to and fro gently in the warm sunshine, reflecting that pretty soon I’ll be back in the wintry Scottish weather. Later on I went to watch the parasurfers (kitesurfers?), which looks like fun, but I’m not tempted to have a go...
I spent some time in the afternoon trying to work out how much all the stuff I plan to take home with me will weigh. And as expected I have well over 30kg hold baggage, with only a 20kg allowance. I can probably risk turning up with 27kg as on the way out, when I got away with that much, but I will either have to send a parcel home with some stuff (it would be cheaper than paying excess baggage charges) or dump some items if they aren’t of much value.
Had a laugh watching Grumpy Old Women on TV here tonight - the stuff they say is so true I think! (Oops). Funny, I was just chatting to Lyn about this programme yesterday.
I’m moving on south tomorrow to give myself plenty of time to get down to Fremantle by Friday 5th. Then on Saturday I plan to complete the loop of Oz and cycle the last 15km from Freo to Perth and in particular to the City YHA where the tour started last October, then celebrate with a slap-up lunch or something similarly significant lol.

DAY 313: Bush camp to Lancelin

2008-09-02T14:04:00.001+01:00

Mon 1st September 2008
48km @ 15.2 km hr
Cloudy, 23 deg C
Elevation of destination 5m
Distance to date 19340 km (12087 miles)

I woke around 0100 to barking dogs, and I assumed at first that they were at the nearest houses a few km away, but as I listened it seemed to me that the barking was getting nearer - was it my imagination? I couldn’t get to sleep again worrying about it; funny how this got to me. I later felt that there was one feral / wandering dog that was causing ‘domestic’ dogs to get excited. Anyway it went quiet, and I finally got to sleep with no more disturbances, waking after 8 to pitter-patter on the canvas. Just light rain, but enough to slow me down even more, but it soon relented and I got underway at around 0930.
The first 10km was OK, moderately undulating with a light tailwind, but after turning to the north I had more of a headwind and the road started to undulate more significantly. This continued for the next 20km, and included some steep hills up to 9 or 10%. I also had half an hour of rain at the highest point, and felt very cold even though it was still 16 deg C. There was me thinking today would be easy - well, it wasn't!
The vegetation remained low shrub / small Banksia-type trees, with plenty of grass trees everywhere including in the sheep meadows lol (do the sheep eat that stuff I wonder?). There was hardly any traffic though which was good. Shelter was not much of an issue in the light wind. Finally I topped the hill and started a shallow descent for a few km until hitting the Yanchep to Lancelin road. Here another climb began, and the N/NE wind had freshened, so the last 9km (or 8, or 10, depending on which of the 3 signs at the junction were correct lol) was tough. There was a 3km descent into Lancelin but I had to pedal hard to get down in the wind, so all the pain ascending earlier did not have any reciprocal pleasure in the downhill.
Checking the map just now I note that the ‘direct’ 4WD route from Cervantes to Lancelin is only 75km, whereas the route I took on the bitumen was fully 179km!! Maybe I should have done more research on the former track, but I understand that it is unrideable.
I rode straight to the YHA in Lancelin and checked in for 2 nights. This looks a very nice place; modern, comfortable, HEATERS in the room, internet where you can upload etc.etc. I also have a dorm to myself tonight as it’s not busy. The town is dead; it’s low season, but that’s an advantage to me lol!
After getting all the usual chores done (including a wonderful shower!) I had a look around the town and bought some wine for later to have with my fish and chip supper. I wish I’d arrived here earlier now, this is such a comfy pad......There’s even wireless internet here.

DAY 312: Bush camp to bush camp 31km E of Lancelin

2008-09-01T09:18:00.009+01:00

Sun 31st August 2008
111km @ 17.2 km hr
Cloudy, 23 deg C
Elevation of destination 70m
Distance to date 19292 km (12057 miles)

A spot of rain fell as I was rousing myself but it didn’t come to much, anyway, there was a heavy dew over everything to start with. This has been a great camping spot though, and there wasn’t a breath of sound last night apart from an occasional bark from a distant dog.
The first 5km undulated to the junction with the Jurien Bay to Brand Highway road, then it was flat for 9, but the last 21km to the highway featured big undulations of 2km up at 5% or so followed by a similar descent, painstakingly repeated 5 or 6 times as I slowly passed a long wind farm. There was a light to moderate NE wind all day that mostly helped me along nicely, so I got further than expected. The sky was darkish all day, and I fully expected rain, but it never came.
Once on the highway there was no mercy from the traffic volume, Sunday or no; it was very busy. None of the 65km on the Brand Highway today had anything like a decent shoulder, and there was none at all for a lot of the way. There was a gravel shoulder, but it wasn’t of consistent quality with stretches of roly poly pea gravel, soft strctches, and a deep camber in places that made me slide right off the road once to escape a road train. As one of the main highways in WA it’s appalling that there isn’t a properly designated shoulder to cycle on; funny thing is the carriageways seem wider than usual, and I’m certain they could paint in a decent width of shoulder without making the main cariageway too narrow. It is a pretty dangerous road, so beware! At one point a local mine road train came within a foot of me on an open road when there was absolutely no need - another psychopath driver presumably, having fun with me? It left me feeling very angry and nervous, and after that I got off whenever a lorry was coming, as far as I could see anyhow - it’s not always easy to see what’s coming up behind you in the mirror if the lights in the wrong place.
After 30km on the highway there are 2 roadhouses at Cataby, where I stopped for a snack. I don't know; you don't see one for a hundred km then there are 2! In fact they are Cataby; there’s nothing else there except for a hotel, and I smiled at the signs at the roadhouses' rivalry, one of which says “Open 24 hours” and the other going one better by claiming “Open 25 hours”!
There was another 35km of highway truck-dodging to do before the turnoff to Lancelin, but I was surprised to find another roadhouse just 2km before the turnoff at Regan’s Ford on the Moore River, which isn’t marked on my map. I had to stop of course and sample their wares, and I took the opportunity to ring Lyn from there too.
As I rolled out, weaving around yet another coachload of tourists returning from the Pinnacles, the sky was black, and I momentarily considered staying in the caravan park next to the roadhouse, but trusted to luck and carried on. I started to think this was a bad move since the first 2km of the Lancelin road were wall to wall posh olive orchards, and after they finished there were several km of occupied plots, but finally these fell away and it was back to bush. Part of this is the Moore River NP and I think I was probably camped close to the park boundary. Again, it was a nice campsite with lots of wildflowers around.
It’s been another cool day, much cooler than I have been used to for the past few months, and I felt very cold indeed at dusk, until I was able to climb into my sleeping bag. I only have around 40km to Lancelin tomorrow so I can take my time in the morning again.

Pics show yesterday's camp (first) and today's (second).

DAY 311: Bush camp to bush camp 17km E of Cervantes

2008-09-01T09:18:00.006+01:00

Sat 30th August 2008
69km @ 15.4 km hr
Cloudy, sunny intervals, 24 deg C
Elevation of destination 122m
Distance to date 19181 km (11988 miles)
Destination = S 30°23.511’ ; E 115°11.036’

What a slow start today - didn’t wake until 9\8, and away around 10! I’m definitely winding down. I could hear Skippy the ‘roo thumping around nearby while I was having breakfast, but he didn’t show up to join me unfortunately.
It was a very short ride of 7km into Cervantes, and it didn’t take long for me to decide not to stay here tonight; to me it’s nothing more than a sprawling housing estate by the sea that happens to be near WA’s biggest visitor attraction, The Pinnacles. I found the sea accidentally at the end of the road to the caravan park, but there were no signs directing one to any other foreshore access - is this all there is? I was further put off when told how much internet access was - $10/hr at the bottle shop and an Australian record (for me) of $12 at the newsagent / Telecentre. I don’t know what the Telecentres are all about - have they been provided for the community? Do they get to use it for nothing? Why do they charge visitors so much then? Where does the money go to? Anyway they weren’t getting mine - the charges were just plain greedy as far as I’m concerned and I refused to play fleece the tourist today. Rant over...
I bought a few groceries and a passable pastie, had another quick look around, found nothing, so hit the road again. To just 1km out of town to Lake Thetis to see the stromatolites, or rather the remains thereof. These simple organisms apparently predate all life, and are responsible for originally producing all the oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere - this is what I was told so if it’s wrong, please let me know someone. What is now left to be seen are the calciferous, coral-like clumps that are in evidence around the edge of the lake. A 1km or so concrete path is in the process of being built around the lake and I was able to cycle around it. The interpretive panels are not in yet.
I then decided to ride the 34km there and back to the Pinnacles and see what all the fuss was about, and turned off right again 2km E of Cervantes. It was quite a pleasant ride; flat for the first 12km then Tobleroning up and down the gearbox for the next 5km. I rode up to the manned entry booth and was told I didn’t have to pay, as a cyclist - good onya guys, that's more like it! At last something free around here lol! I was able to ride around the 3.5km sandy road that winds through the Pinnacles Desert as they call it. It is a pretty amazing sight actually; thousands of upright pillars sticking wierdly out of the flat sandy ground. Briefly, they are the products of weathering -

1. on shore winds have produced 3 or so rows of lime-rich (seashell) sand dunes over the past 2 million years...
2. with time the lime leached out of the dunes and settled into a harder layer beneath the ground...
3. roots and land movement penetrated and caused the harder layer to crack and fissure...
4. the upper strata subsequently eroded to leave the cracked layer exposed...
5. further weathering of the cracks left the pinnacles as seen today...

I seemed to attract quite a lot of attention with the other several hundred sightseers as I rode around; I guess they don’t expect to see someone cycling around a place like this. I enjoyed this ride around, but I had a wary eye on the black clouds hovering around - would it rain on me and spoil the party?
Anyway after about an hour I’d seen all there was to see and turned around and headed back the way I’d come, faster this time what with the downhills and a more favourable wind, and by 1620 I was back where I’d turned off. The wind was even more in my favour as I headed NE so I decided to press on for as long I could. I passed a rather nice camping spot but as the wind was still good I carried on, but a few km further on the wind dropped, there was a long uphill, and nowhere to camp. This road from Cervantes (to the Brand Highway) is very undulating so far, with deceptively-steep hills. The rain was still threatening and I didn’t want to get wet and cold, but Lady Fortune came to my rescue when I spotted an old disused track on the right, and in I went unseen. Well, what a lovely spot - easy to get in and a beautiful array of trees and shrubs, especially Banksia, another WA emblem. Some 100m in I cleared the small stones away and gathered dead leaves to put down as a comfort layer on the somewhat stony ground, and set up. Later I walked the old track for at least 1km marvelling at the beauty of it all - my own private floral forest for a while. Completely hidden from the road too. Note the grass trees (pic), which are very common now, and the Banksia seed (pic). And it never rained...
As I ate my usual mound of pasta (linguini actually) it became quite cold, and I was glad to get in the tent and get my legs into my sleeping bag for warmth. I type sat in my Thermarest chair, then when finished revert back to mattress only to lie down for a read, or more likely, to do some Sudoku. I've now got a book of 'Hard, Harder and Hardest' puzzles, and I'm struggling a bit with the former - I probably need a pencil so I can start trying numbers, then rubbing out if found incorrect later. Any advice gratefully accepted!

DAY 310:Bush camp to bush camp 8km N of Cervantes

2008-09-01T09:17:00.003+01:00

Fri 29th August 2008
64km @ 13.6 km hr
Cloudy, rshowers, 20 deg C
Elevation of /destination 8m
Distance to date 19112 km (11945 miles)

Having slept soundly from 9 until 2 in just the sleeping bag on the wooden floor of the viewing area I awoke to raindrops on my face. I might have known that the only time I’ve slept outside the tent it would rain! Still, it was forecast. I scrambled around for a few minutes erecting the tent - not too difficult since I’d left everything to hand and made sure all my stuff was in the waterproof panniers - got in, and went back to sleep. Aren't head torches wonderful?
It was raining at around 7 when I woke up, so I stayed put for a while, dodging out to get breakfast (muesli) in between showers. Around 0830 it eased off although the sky was still a funny colour, and I made a chilly start just after 9.
It was only 20 minutes into Green Head, and I almost made it before the rain came on again, but a km before the town it came down hard, and I got quite wet. I went to the only store and ordered an egg and bacon roll and coffee, but had to sit shivering outside as there was nowhere to sit inside. I got funny looks from the few locals that came in - you’d have thought I’d dropped in from planet Zog - and didn’t find it a very welcoming experience. Green Head is a bland and nondescript place, and while I’m sure some love it to bits, it isn’t somewhere I would look forward to going to again. I noticed ads for houses for sale where a ramshackle place was priced at $370000 (£180000) - strange.....maybe there’s gold in the soil or something; or maybe I missed something?
On leaving the wind had picked up again to ‘moderate’ and was dead in the face. There was less shelter too from the wind-stunted scrubbery, and it felt tough. I went through a bad spell; probably due as much as anything to the recurring gastric woes, which are a real downer. The second course of treatment prescribed by the $60 doctor in Kalbarri did absolutely nothing to change things - strange in view of the fact that the first course prescribed in Broome worked OK for a couple of weeks. It’s getting so that severe stomach cramps are starting within 30 minutes of eating or drinking now, and I’ll have to seek help again I guess.
Eventually I crawled into Jurien Bay at around 10 km/hr and had a good rest. The sun came out and it felt good as I started to warm up more. I tentatively ate some lunch and thought about staying the night, but it clouded over again, the place looked less attractive, and I carried on. I was feeling substantially stronger than on arrival, and just as well since the wind became fresh to strong - southerly and still right in the face. If anything there was even less shelter now with hardly any trees to be seen, Caithness-style!
With a few km to go to Cervantes there was a good bush camping opportunity so I decided to take it and pulled off at around 1600 - not a bad spot at all; well-concealed from the road and nice and flat. After setting up I poured a goodly-sized mug of white wine and sat back with today’s West Australian, the sun came out for me, and all was well with the world. Except for the odd marauding giant ant that is - wow, these babies are the biggest I’ve seen at around 20mm long, and they actually rear up at you with their ‘horns’ flailing around when you try to flick them away; spunky little devils. I’m pretty sure these are the Bull Ants I’ve read about, and they give a very painful bite apparently. I made sure the tent flaps were closed; don’t want any guests in bed tonight...
Whilst I was cooking there were some more light showers and it suddenly got very cool.

DAY 309: Dongara to bush camp 9km S of Leeman

2008-09-01T09:16:00.003+01:00

Thurs 28th August 2008
95km @ 15.1 km hr
Cloudy, 24 deg C
Elevation of /destination 18m
Distance to date 19048 km (11905 miles)

I was up and about early and packed everything up prior to breakfast, and I made good use of the toaster and electric kettle for a nice change. I've particularly missed my toast whilst camping - the 'gas stove toaster' I bought from a camping shop doesn't do a very good job. Away at 0830 onto the 11km link road from Port Denison to the Brand Highway southbound - this cuts out the need to go back through Dongara and saves a few km, not to mention that it’s much less busy than the highway. This road passes through a dune system and rises and falls with the dunes; the vegetation is coastal scrub; pretty dense stuff it is too.
Once onto the Brand Highway (Highway 1) the traffic was a good bit less than yesterday thankfully, and I also had a NE tailwind, however this didn’t last more than an hour when it swung 180 degrees around to SW i.e. a headwind! The highway is reasonably flat with long straights at first, then more bends later on.
After about 30km on the highway I took the right turn onto the Jurien Bay coastal road, which was pretty quiet as expected. This road winds almost continually and is somewhat monotonous, every bend opens up to reveal an almost identical stretch of road as before, and the dense vegetation / scrub changes little. There are a few short tracks leading to the shore during the first 30km, where the endless beach is covered in rotting seaweed, much like the stuff that gets washed up in Caithness. I was going to stop for lunch at one of these spots, but as it was a little early I carried on, and of course there were no more, and I ploughed on for quite a while without finding a decent place. I finally gave up looking, being desperate for food and drink, and just made do with sitting at the roadside with the bike leaning against a pole. It was very hot just there as it was out of the wind, so I didn’t stay too long. I did feel better for the break though, and had more energy to cope with the freshening W/SW wind. In stretches where there was no shelter things went very slowly indeed.
Eventually I reached Leeman (it’s 56km from the junction with the highway) and tarried a while. Just a little while mind, since there’s nothing particularly beautiful about the village; it has a ‘seen better days’ look about it. I was pretty impressed though with the long straight line of old gum trees lining the road through the place for about 3 or 4 km - whoever’s idea it was to do such things deserves a medal; it looks so good 50 years or whatever later and adds a wee touch of class to a reather mundane place.
After iced coffee I sodiered on into the wind, intending to stop within the hour when I found a decent bush camp. There are signs all over the place around here saying ‘No Camping’ - God knows why, because there’s hundreds of square km of empty bush out here between the road and the coast, and it's not NP. By the way this coastal road mostly runs no more than 1 or 2km from the sandy shore.
Around 1630 I went down a track leading to the coast and found a wooden viewing platform raised some 20m above the sea - a great vantage point - and apart from the wind not a bad place to camp. I decided to hang around here until nearer dusk to see if anyone else turned up. As expected not a soul was seen, borne out by ther lack of footprints around here. It’s a shame if it’s not used, because it’s a lovely spot, affording panoramic views of the coast for a long way north and south. Oh well, I’ll make good use of it then. I didn’t unpack everything from the bike, but just got out the food and cooking gear and got dinner done. I ate watching another great sunset over the sea directly in front of me, but then as it got colder I set up the Thermarest mattress on the bench seat, and got in the sleeping bag for warmth whilst typing this up. I don’t know whether or not to set up the tent on the platform or not - I’m sure I’d be warm enough in the sleeping bag fully clothed, it’s just that rain is forecast and there are a few black clouds scudding around. Mmmmm, decisions.....What a great view from my personal vantage point though...

DAY 308: S-bend Roadhouse to Dongara / Port Denison

2008-09-01T09:15:00.007+01:00

Weds 27th August 2008
50km @ 15.0 km hr
Sunny, 26 deg C
Elevation of /destination 8m
Distance to date 18953 km (11846 miles)

Despite plenty of traffic rolling by in the night I slept well, and was up fairly early to join Robbie for breakfast. We found plenty to talk about though so it was turned 9 when we left; me into a tailwind for a change. The road was very busy though, with hundreds of trucks on the go, some coming close to me with a narrow bitumen shoulder. The outer gravel shoulder was fairly firm though, so whenever I saw I might be squeezed I jumped onto it. The first 10km was dead flat and dead staight, but thereafter it started undulating, with a couple of steepish climbs.
I arrived in Dongara well before 1100 and the first building I noticed was the bakery, so I couldn’t let that pass without sampling something e.g. a chunky steak pie and iced coffee. To be honest Dongara was a nicer place than I had anticipated - everything I’ve read about it, and all the local information signs, have the word ‘Historic’ in there somewhere. This term is used far too liberally in Australia in my view; anything more than 50 years old appears to be ‘Historic’ - er, hello, no, that doesn’t mean something is historically significant, it’s just unhelpful spin. The word now actually puts me off bothering to look at the ‘Historic’ something in question, I’ve been had so many times. Anyway although I coudn’t see very much historic about this town it is well-appointed with lots of lovely old Moreton Bay Fig trees lining the street - perhaps these might be termed ‘Historic’ if more than a couple of hundred years old! Though how the River Irwin that passes through the place is ‘Historic’ God only knows!! I promise not to mention the H word again (for a while).
I cycled through the town to go and have a look at the beach / coastline, and was quite impressed - nice white sandy beaches and blue sea under a clear blue sky and the connected settlement of Port Denison looking very much the picture-postcard perfect place. It was so lovely and quiet there too, and I quickly decided to stay here tonight.
I checked into the Tourist Park CP ($18) which is just 100m from the shore at Port Denison, and had set up by 1300. A good shady pitch too. I enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon riding around and sitting in the sun watching the waves crashing over the breakwater, not to mention enjoying the delights of another bakery / cafe here too. I also rode the 2km back into Dongara to do some internet stuff and have a look around.
Spent a sociable evening cooking and eating in the campers kitchen with several folk coming and going, and enjoying a couple of bottles of Wild Turkey bourbon and dried ginger.

DAY 307: Bush camp to S-bend Roadhouse

2008-09-01T09:15:00.005+01:00

Tues 26th August 2008
56km @ 14.5 km hr
Cloudy, sunny intervals, 23 deg C
Elevation of /destination 18m
Distance to date 18903 km (11814 miles)

Another dewy morning and a good excuse to stay in bed until the sun burnt the condensation off the tent. Gone are the days when I used to want to get out to avoid becoming fried! It was a very cool start but 500m of steep climbing warmed me up, and then it was a 4km coast downhill to rejoin the Great North Western Coastal Highway again, and a further 6km flat ride into Geraldton. As soon as I could I got off the busy highway and onto the coastal cycle path which runs along beside a white sandy beach.
I stopped at the VIC to ask about caravan park prices and location of internet places, before hitting the bakery for a very nice Cornish pastie. Uploading was trouble-free and quick, and while on there I booked 5 nights at the Freemantle YHA, having worked out just when I needed to be there date-wise. I’ve accounted for my last 10 days in Oz, and I think my hosts for the last weekend, Andrew and Joanne, are going to make sure I get to the airport with bike in good time for my flight home leaving in the early hours of Monday 15 September.
I lunched on a 12” chicken and avacado sub, sat in the main street watching the world go by, making up my mind to move on again today rather than stay in Geraldton. I had thought to stay 2 nights, but as has happened before, once I’m in a big town I seem to change my mind. It’s not a bad place, just nothing that I can see that I’m really interested in - I like rural rather than urban, the exception being the large cities where there are places such as botanic gardens and art galleries to see. It’s also somewhat gloomy weather today too, which doesn’t present a place as well as it might.
So after shopping at IGA I topped up water and hit the road south - now called the Brand Highway. Despite the southerly headwind progress was good initially, probably due to the many buildings and trees sheltering the road, but once these fell away the wind was full on and I made slower progress.
I went to have a look at the Greenough River mouth, 2km off on the right, where there’s a caravan park and a nice beach, but it was still early afternoon and I felt like riding on. The road becomes dead straight for 15km or more from here, and what with the fresh headwind and heavier traffic I started to wonder if I’d done the right thing. There wasn’t a hint of anywhere to camp at the side of the road either - continuous large house plots lined the road, interspersed with grain fields. The road is dead flat without much of a shoulder and with no shelter either. Around 1700 when I’d just about given up hope, a sign said that there was a roadhouse with caravan park just 2km ahead; this wasn’t shown on my map and came as a welcome surprise. Even more welcome when the manager said I would only have to pay $5 rather than the usual 20 - because I’m a cyclist. I quipped that I hadn’t been charged anything at the Wooramel roadhouse, and he threatened to charge me $10 instead, for my cheek. There was another cyclist staying here too - Robbie from New Zealand - he’s been touring various places in Oz with his wife for a few months but is just riding from Perth up to Kalbarri on his own at the moment. He may ride the Nullabor to Adelaide next. We had a lot of advice to offer each other about places we’d been to, and I picked up some good tips for the last leg down to Perth.

DAY 306: Bush camp to bush camp 14km NE of Geraldton

2008-08-26T05:07:00.004+01:00

Mon 25th August 2008
74km @ 13.3 km hr
Cloudy, sunny intervals, 24 deg C
Elevation of /destination 123m

Distance to date 18847 km (11779 miles)

There was a heavy dew last night, the first for many months, and it took me by surprise. I had only thrown the tent outer over loosely, so there were several places where the outer was touching the inner, which caused some serious drips. I also managed to knock some milk over inside too, durrrr...... What a nice pitch this has been though - carpets of flowers all around me. They are predominantly paper daisies (Everlastings) and I hadn’t realised they close their petals overnight - all I could see this morning was a round pink or yellow bud. Once the sunshine hits them the petals open and point to the sun.
It wasn’t quite as cold in the morning as of late, so it was a little easier to leave the pit, and I was up and away by 0830 to another draggy uphill for 3 or 4km. The wind was light and blowing from the SW, so of no help, but the constantly twisting and undulating road was quite pleasant and made a change from recent dead straight and flat routes.
With a last 3km climb, including a very steep end, I crawled into Northampton at last. I searched for a bakery but there wasn’t one unfortunately, and the cafe only had a few dubious-looking Mrs. Mack’s pies and some unappetising scones on show. I settled for iced coffee and chocolate biscuits from the IGA. Northampton is a pretty and sleepy-looking little town; older than most towns I pass through, with turn-of-the-century clapboard shops with big verandahs facing onto the street - a proper town centre. I lingered with the paper and biscuits for a while; after reading the weather forecast for today resigned to SE winds this morning and S this afternoon - right in the face. No rush though; I don’t want to get to Perth too early.
As I was leaving town for the 52km run to Geraldton I came to the junction with the Nabawa road and stopped to check the map. I remember reading about this aternative route which is much quieter and only 13km longer, and decided to go this way. Good decision as it turned out - hardly another vehicle to be seen, and the 24km to Nabawa was strewn with wild flowers most of the way. One of the main crops grown in this predominantly arable area is Canola - Oilseed Rape we call it in the UK - and what with it’s bright yellow fields and the acres of yellow Everlastings, it made for a great blaze of dazzling colour all around as far as I could see. The road is pretty hilly and never straightens out, but that didn’t matter, this was very agreeable riding indeed.
Nawaba is also a tidy little village, much smaller than Northampton, and there’s a primary school and a pub, but no shop. I got an iced coffee there though, and sat in the sun contentedly with a bag of crisps and newspaper. I lingered for an hour before setting off again, expecting a direct headwind on this south-pointing run to Geraldton, however the wind had dropped altogether for now and the first hour was easy going. Again trees came close up to the edge of the road, which bent around a lot but was considerably flatter now, with the odd rogue hill thrown in. Later on though, once over a large hill, the south wind hit with a vengeance, and I slowed considerably; hardly making 10 km/hr for a lot of the time. I passed a picture of Colonel Sanders (pic) who is standing for election in the WA elections....There was an unexpected rest area with about 22km to go to Geraldton, not marked on the map, and I briefly stopped there and thought about camping, but the canola in the adjacent field was making my eyes itchy and sore (just as oilseed does at home), and so I continued. The road is fenced very close to the road so there is little opportunity to camp there, but near to the junction with the link road to Mullewa there were a few acres of unfenced land which was easy to access and which had several flat areas to pitch the tent on, so in I went at around 1600, a bit earlier than usual. I prefer doing this even though Geraldton is only an hour away - tomorrow I will have all day to check out the best place to stay there for a couple of days, rather than being rushed tonight; plus I save a possible $20-plus camping fee. I made sure I put the tent up properly this afternoon so as to hopefully avoid more drips overnight.

DAY 305: Kalbarri to bush camp 19km NW of Northampton

2008-08-26T05:07:00.003+01:00

Sun 24th August 2008
86km @ 14.6 km hr
Cloudy, sunny intervals, 24 deg C
Elevation of /destination 111m

Distance to date 18773 km (11733 miles)

Up a bit more sharpish this morning with the intention of an early start, but by the time I’d had breakfast, packed the bike up, checked e-mails and watched the mens marathon, it was nearly 1000. After saying goodbyes it was off into a light headwind and 16km of climbing straight off. It felt quite hard even after just a few days rest, and the hill seemed interminable. There’s not a lot of cover for the first 30km either; just coastal heath low scrub. I didn’t find it very enjoyable, even though the scenery wasn’t too bad, with regular glimpses of the distant blue ocean and all.
I wasn’t able to find a decent place to have lunch until 55km, when I found an electricity pole to lean against, and then I was troubled by flies and mozzies. I bought a new fly net yesterday but it’s hard to eat with a net over your face lol.
The whole ride today is moderately undulating with some steepish hills thrown in, and time and time again I dropped down only to have to climb up again. The only flat part is where the road runs alongside Hutt Lagoon, some 12km. The SW wind was either on the right side or just in front, so no help at all to me. Traffic was very light though. I did get buzzed by Three Hell's Angels riding flat out giuving off about 150 dB, well done guys.
After Hutt Lagoon there’s a right turn to Gregory, and I did consider riding to the CP there, but it was almost back in the same direction, and completely open to the wind, so I decided not to bother and chance my arm for a bush camp site. This wasn’t easy due to the fence close-to on both sides of the road. At 1700 I finally spotted a possible site - on the right the fence disappeared for a while, so I dove in to have a look. It was very nice actually, an area going back at least 100m and covered with swathes of brightly-coloured Everlastings and other wildflowers, as if it was someone’s wildflower garden. No houses for several km though as far as I could see, so in I went, and easily found a flat area without thorny shrubs (which were almost everywhere around here) and hidden from the road. I can be seen from the ploughed field beyond the fence, but surely no-one will see me from there.
I was very hungry so did a mega-portion of pasta for dinner. It’s 2000 as I type and it’s getting very cold - I’ll need plenty of clothing on tonight.

DAY 304: Day 4 off in Kalbarri

2008-08-26T04:58:00.004+01:00

Sat 23rd August 2008
Cloudy, sunny later, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 18687 km (11679 miles)

I decided to stay here another day as I’m enjoying the relaxing, low-season atmosphere both in the town and in the YHA backpackers. It’s nice to be able to dip in and out of socialising at will and also wander around on the beach right on the doorstep. Not to mention availability of a good bakery. And being able to watch the Olympics (usually).
I uploaded again this morning in between watching the games, and in the afternoon rode over to the Wildflower Centre to have a look around. This is a few acres of bush with a wide variety of wild flowers, most labelled with the for identification. I was consequently then able to name some flowers and plants that I’ve been wondering about, such as the Smoke Bush, which is very common around here. It’s a large shrub with white ends to the branches that look like smoke from a distance. It was a warm sunny afternoon so it was very pleasant strolling around the 1.6km of paths. Even more pleasant to afterwards quoff the best Devonshire tea I’ve had in Australia - big and light home-made scones; proper whipped cream, none of yer spray-on stuff, and large portions of cream and jam too. Mmmmm......
By evening the backpackers was full of women - passengers on the Easyrider bus tour service who were staying here overnight - there are very few men that use this service for some reason, it’s usually 90% or so female. They’re good company, but get so loud together, and I had difficulty hearing the Olympics; in fact I gave up in the end and went to bed (alone of course!). I had another surprise on entering the (8-bed) dormitory when I saw that there was a woman making her bed up in there. Apparently there are so many females staying here tonight the only bed available was in this mens dorm. Her husband was also in here though to keep an eye on her.......

The lower flower is Kangaroo Paw, floral emblem of WA; upper is an Everlasting Daisy (Peper Daisy).

DAY 303: Day 3 off in Kalbarri

2008-08-23T05:55:00.002+01:00

Fri 22nd August 2008
Cloudy, sunny later, 23 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 18687 km (11679 miles)

After a solid 9 hours sleep again I headed off to the surgery but had to make an appointment for 1230. On returning in good time I still had to wait until 1330 to see the doctor. He went through various questions that seemed irrelevant to me, such as how many children I had, and how many marriages!? Don’t know what all that was about but on finally getting to the gist of the problem it was clear that I needed another course of the same tabs that I was prescribed in Broome. While waiting for the pharmacist to make this up the surgery phoned to ask me to return and to pay the doctor’s fee. Pay? I’d thought that I could get treatment free under the reciprocal health care agreement between Australia and the UK, but apparently not. I hadn’t had to pay before when reporting to the Emergency departments of hospitals, but this, apparently, is different. I had to pay $60 (£30), which I wasn’t too chuffed about. If I’d known this I would have waited until Geraldton where there’s a hospital. Maybe I can claim it back via my travel insurance.
Later on I went around to Ashley’s for the barbie, and met his wife Tracey and sons Josh and Alec. Ashley is a bit of a character and very entertaining, with his gross and vociferous dislike of anything involving lycra or carbon fibre (he is very much a ‘traditionalist’ when it comes to bicycles), and we had a good old time with the chat and the Guinness. I mentioned that my brake blocks were worn out, which was cue for Ashley to jump up and fit 2 new pairs - one of which I would pay for but the second, good, recycled pair were free, and free labour thrown in - what a guy! He even trued the front wheel a bit to stop some rubbing, while I was attacked by mozzies lol. He’s heavily into supporting touring cyclists so anyone planning to pass this way should definitely get in touch - he can offer advice and help and even a roof over your head for a couple of nights if you ask him nicely. He can be contacted via the Bicyclewa website (www.bicyclewa.com.au)
When I got back to the hostel a group were watching some mindless banale programme so I wasn’t able to tune into the Olympics again; oh well, there you go, each to his own. So an early night.

DAY 302: Day 2 off in Kalbarri

2008-08-23T05:54:00.001+01:00

Thurs 21st August 2008
20km @ 12.0 km/hr
Cloudy, 21 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 18687 km (11679 miles)

I slept very well last night, possibly better for having fitted foam earplugs that John had given me (because he thought he snored and would keep us awake!). I hadn’t really been aware of the snoring but the floorboards creak a lot when anyone walks around.
At 1000 myself and a few others who had hired bikes from the hostel got them loaded up into a trailer behind the minibus that dropped us 17km south along the coast road. From here the idea is to cycle back taking in the viewpoints along the coast back to Kalbarri. Unfortunately it was extremely windy and the ride was quite unpleasant; of the 7 or 8 viewpoints I only looked at 2 or 3 of them, since one has to descend 1 or 2km to the coast each time only to have to battle back onto the road against the strong E wind again. To be honest I wasn’t that impressed with the viewpoint scenery; maybe I’m spoilt after seeing the Karijini gorges and other places but these today weren’t anything special in my opinion. I was glad though that I wasn’t riding on today, and was spared over-exposure to the horrible winds. It wasn’t too warm either and I was glad to get back and get warm.
I planned to have a nice sandwich somewhere so tried 3 different cafes with no success. At the first there was a bad-tempered and screaming toddler whose mother was doing nothing to control him; at the second, an ‘organic’ cafe, the menu outside advertised home-made rolls, but when I ordered it turned out that no rolls were made today since it was ‘quiet’ and there was only sliced bread. The third place looked OK but the price of a chicken and avacado sandwich was a whopping $18, and I begrudge paying that much I’m afraid, consequently I went back ‘home’ for toasted fruit loaf and coffee! The upside of lack of choice here is the fact that it’s very quiet - I guess I’ve now moved into the WA winter, and holidaymakers are heading for the warmer climes of Broome and Exmouth i.e. several 100km north. I like quiet!
Next task was the Kalbarri health centre and checking out my gastric problems, but there was no doctor there today (it is a very small place really), but I found out there will be one there tomorrow. Then I tried to buy an inner tube since I’m low on spares, and I was directed to a guy called Ashley who repairs bicycles and sells spares. I got my tube, plus a free ‘recycled’ one to go with it, plus a lot of chat and good advice from Ashley (nickname ‘Crank’ lol) about all things bicycle-related. I had a chance to examine his Bob trailer, and was quite impressed with them. Others had advised me to choose that option instead of panniers, and I have to agree they are pretty impressive. I can see that in terms of wind resistance and stability they score highly, and if I do any more tours I may choose this option after testing one out. Ashley said I could have stayed there, but I’ve already booked the hostel until Saturday morning. Anyway I accepted his invitation to a barbie tomorrow afternoon, which I look forward to. I still haven’t heard whether the flight to Monkey Mia is on or not for tomorrow (they need 4 to go ahead).
The 2 tubes I got from Ashley were good, heavy thorn-resistant types and I decided to fit them straight away to deter future punctures, and I’m glad I did, because I found a thorn embedded in the rear tyre and protruding through to the inside - by some miracle it hadn’t entered the tube. Later on I watched a bit more of the Olympics, but the coverage here is not as good as in the UK - mostly, only events where Australians have a chance are shown, and they are not doing as well as usual.

Lack of pics is due to my camera being set wrongly - the switch must have moved and they are all too bright so no pics tomorrow either.

DAY 301: Day 1 off in Kalbarri

2008-08-23T05:53:00.001+01:00

Weds 20th August 2008
Sunny intervals / cloudy 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 18667 km (11667 miles)

It felt unfamiliar sharing a room with others but I slept reasonably well nevertheless. After leisurely breakfast watching the Olympics highlights and chatting I got on with maintainance tasks such as washing and other mundane but essential stuff.
I did very little today actually, a real chill-out day, and thoroughly enjoyed it too. I did rouse myself to go for a stroll along the beach in the afternoon, before doing a little grocery shopping at IGA. I enjoyed the friendliness of the hostel; people coming and going and chatting about experiences. I cooked for myself in the hostel and had a couple of beers and a little wine - nothing more to report!

DAY 300: Bush camp to Kalbarri

2008-08-20T06:24:00.004+01:00

53km @ 15.4 km/hr
Tues 19th August 2008
Sunny, 27 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 18667 km (11667 miles)

Day 300 - where did the time go?? Hard to believe this trip is nearly over; for ages it seemed like it would last for ever!
Last night’s campsite was a good one, very peaceful, and I couldn’t even hear the traffic on the road some 1km away if there was any. However I had a very bad ‘gastric attack’ this morning which delayed me considerably. From the instant the sun came up I had to tolerate the accursed bush flies too, trying to drive me to distraction again (and mostly succeeding). I was glad to get going some time after 10 and lose most of them in the crosswind.
After turning right onto the Kalbarri road I only had a couple of km to the turnoff for two lookouts over the Murchison River gorges, which entailed a round trip of around 11km back to the road. The gorges were pretty enough, but not on the same magnificent scale as Karajini NP. I lingered around here most of the morning though in the warm sunshine, chatting to a few tourists who were passing by. One English couple gave me 2 oranges, which makes 5 orange donations in 2 days! The road and facilities at these lookouts are very good and look quite new; shame the Karajini NP / gorges infrastructure isn’t nearly as good. The roads descended down steepish hills to reach the gorges and consequently made for some hard work on returning.
Back on the road the NE wind was bang on the side as I headed SW; the hilly stretch reverted to flat and straight again for the next 20km. The yellow Acacia dominated the roadside, but many other gaily-coloured trees, shrubs and flowers competed for impact. Apart from the flies it was very pleasant riding enhanced by the mixture of scents wafting in the morning air. 10km before Kalbarri is a road leading up to 2 more gorges, Z-bend and Nature’s Window, but they make for a round trip of some 60km, and I decided not to do this. After another quite steep hill there was then a 2km descent into town. The entrance to the town is quite attractive with white sandy beaches, blue seas and the wide Murchison River on my right. The sky had clouded over so the colours were not as bright as usual; it even looked like it might rain.
First stop was the bakery for Cornish pastie and slice of apple stroudel, then the information centre to find out about caravan parks. There were 3, all between $20 and 25, but having checked out the one on the sea front I wasn’t too impressed with the cramped tent area. I’d noticed there was a YHA hostel here, and decided to check this out - $24 for a dorm room and the lady said they weren’t too busy, so I plumped for this; it’s almost in the centre of town too, and close to the beach.
After a good hot shower I got chatting to a couple of fellow guests, Harvey and John, and since Harvey intended to go and eat at a barbecued seafood place (Finlay’s) we all decided to go too. We collected some beers at the conveniently-placed bottle shop en route, and at the eatery ordered the big medley-type dish for $20. It was a huge plateful of fish and shellfish, chips and salad and very good too; I haven’t had such a big feed for ages. We had a nice sociable evening but it got cold around 2030 so we headed ‘home’ again. No time to write the blog so it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

DAY 299: Bush camp to bush camp 36km E of Kalbarri

2008-08-20T06:24:00.003+01:00

103km @ 16.6 km/hr
Mon 18th August 2008
Sunny, 27 deg C
Elevation of /destination 219m
Distance to date 18614 km (11634 miles)

I hardly slept last night due to the bitter cold - I had most of my clothing on and remained tucked up deep inside the sleeping bag - but it wasn’t enough. And I was, mistakenly, well in the shade from the morning sun too, so it took a long while to get warmed up. I’ll have to think of something else for tonight in case it’s the same again. I rekindled the fire and ate my muesli huddled close to it. I am of course heading south pretty quickly so am catching the back end of winter down here; I will probably get some rain soon too, but will my tent in it’s torn state be up to it?!
As I was packing up the flies came along to annoy me so I reached for the net; but I couldn’t find it, and I think it must have blown off when I pulled it over onto the top of my helmet yesterday - drat - I’m going to miss that today what with the numbers being so high at the moment.
So it was a miserable start as I hit the road, and the flies commenced right away to annoy me, as if they knew my face was now freely available. Later on the wind sat on the side so they had more trouble hanging on, and I got some relief, though at the expense of having to pedal harder of course. The road slowly wound around and gently undulated, so it wasn’t so bad, but after 40km or so it became more hilly, and the bitumen shoulder disappeared. The Acacia bushes were in full yellow bloom though, adding a startling contrast to the brown and green bush vegetation. 10km or so before the Murchison River there are 2 rainwater tanks on the left, fed by a large roof, so I took the opportunity to top up, taking on around 6 litres. The water looks and smells OK, but any that I'm going to drink directly I’ll run through the Katadyn filter.
Around 7km N of the big Murchison River it gets more hilly, then the road takes a steep descent down into a very different landscape, with arable fields of grain and grass plus a sudden increase in wildflowers at the roadside. This is the first arable land I've seen for many a month; since the east coast I think. It’s obviously a lot more fertile down here, which I guess is part of the wide Murchison River floodplain. There’s a large rest area by the river so I stopped for a long-wished for break. Close up the river looks pretty polluted though, with lots of filamentous algae building up; probably from agricultural activities upstream.
As I sat down at the only available shady table a lady came and asked whether I’d like a cuppa, and I was invited to join them, just as they were starting their picnic lunch. They were husband and wife Joel and Helen, and her brother Rob, all from Perth. It turned out I’d seen Joel and Helen in Coral Bay - I’d passed them cycling back to the town as I was leaving - all 3 are keen cyclists. Helen plied me with food while the men asked me about the ride, and I answered as best I can with a full mouth. It was a lovely surprise to have lunch with them, especially since I’ve been it a bit of a foul mood being fly-bothered and tired, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the fresh salad after my somewhat repetitive diet, not to mention the joy of again meeting lovely people with interests in common. After saying my goodbyes Helen sent out a large bag of food for me - oranges, bananas, nuts, dates, vegetables - what a lovely lady! I’m warmed by such unexpected kindnesses, that have enhanced my trip so much. We exchanged details and I look forward to hearing from them again. From the rest area (at 60km today) it’s another 13 to the junction with the Kalbarri road, where I turned off right. This 13km is very hilly indeed, with some steepish climbs and descents, and this theme continues for the first 20km towards Kalbarri. The hills must be up to around 6%; some over 1km long, so it was hard going with all the weight I was carrying - not least the 10 litres of water. The flies were terrible, and it’s particularly galling as they congregate on you when going more slowly up hills; I felt like screaming at times and just wished I was somewhere else. How I miss that net!
With 10km to go the road thankfully flattens out completely, and I was coasting along nicely again, pulling myself together, and losing the flies somewhat. It was 1630, and I was looking for a campsite, and I came upon a gravel road off to the left which I followed, and which had several good sites well away from the road.
As I had plenty of water I stripped off and had a good wash down, which felt good, followed by a nice cuppa. The wine is all finished unfortunately. I didn’t light a fire tonight, but just after dark it became very cold and I took my dinner into the tent and ate tucked into my sleeping bag. I’ve fitted the tent outer shell tonight for a change - that will help retain a little warmth - plus I have a bit more clothing I can wear; let’s hope I can keep warm tonight.

DAY 298: Bush camp to bush camp 60km S of Billabong Roadhouse

2008-08-20T06:23:00.004+01:00

101km @ 17.3 km/hr
Sun 17th August 2008
Sunny, 26 deg C
Elevation of /destination 198m
Distance to date 18511 km (11569 miles)
I overshot again and didn’t wake until 0810, being cocooned cosily in the warm darkness of my lair. Peeping out, I was happy to see that Mrs.Diamond Dove was feeding her twins, and all seemed normal with them. Maybe the lack of fear is based on not being harmed by other big animals such as kangaroos. I managed to slowly get within a foot of the nest to take a photo and she still sat there!
It was nearly 0930 then when I carefully picked my way through the undergrowth, keeping a wary eye open for Jackthorns so as to avoid yet another p*******. Despite this being the sabbath the road was still busy, mostly with caravanners and boaters / fishermen. The first 65km is dead straight, which with 25km yesterday adds up to no bend in the road for 90km.
The first 40km took me to Billabong Roadhouse, and it was a bit of a grind with the wind bang on the left side the whole time, so I was averaging just under 15km/hr. There is a decent shoulder of 700mm to 1m so no traffic dramas, and from 20 to 40km there are some moderate undulations that almost amount to Tobleroning - some would call it hilly. Not as many wild flowers on show today but the stunted shrubbery is gradually giving way to bigger and denser trees - good camping territory all the way, especially as there are patches of firm sandy ground all over the place.
So I was happy to reach the roadhouse for a ‘treat’, which consisted of a ‘rooburger and double-strength iced coffee. The burger was very nice (it was just lean meat with gravy and fried onions on a bun), but I wasn’t too impressed with the response to my request for a few litres of water - the rather grumpy lady said I would have to buy some desalinated stuff (“because we have to pay to get it out of the ground and remove the salt”), which is fair enough, but when I went to buy some the guy said they didn’t have any and I could buy water in bottles at around $5 each. Thanks mate. I know drinking water is precious here, but most similarly-placed roadhouses don’t quibble about giving a few litres of good stuff to cyclists. The raw water is indeed pretty awful, but I took a couple of litres from the bathroom nevertheless, to use for cooking and washing. It’s the high mineral content that makes it taste bad apparently, and it doesn’t do your gastric system much good either!
I was discussing this with a guy from Perth outside, and he kindly gave me a half-litre bottle of frozen solid stuff, which went down a treat in the afternoon.
On setting off again around 1 I was happy to find that the wind had shifted somewhat so it was more behind me, plus after 20km the straight section ended as the road bent right so I was even better off! Tailwind = happiness. The icy bottle was placed in the centre rear pocket of my cycling top so it cooled the spine while it melted, as I enjoyed nice cold water for a change. Temperatures over the past few weeks have been very nice indeed to ride in; mostly mid-twenties, so I’ve not been overheating, but still enjoy cold beverages.
After the roadhouse the road continues to undulate and bend quite a bit, but with the tailwind it wasn’t hard riding. I spotted a little blue wren dead on the road and had a chance to admire up close the beautiful colouration (pic). There was plenty of road kill too, with some of the biggest ‘roos among the victims. They are pretty huge up close, and make a terrible mess all over the road. I’m immune to such gore by now, but it still saddens me that man kills so many creatures as he storms around everywhere.
I decided I’d pack in after 100km, which I did, and found a good campsite right away - a 100m walk through the trees to a wide sandy patch out of sight of the road. There was lots of dead wood around as usual so I got a fire going right away, before having a good wash down unworried about being seen by anyone. The tent pole fix has been OK so far; fingers crossed it’ll do until the end of the trip.
I had another good supper of spaghetti, and finished off the last 4 slices of bread toasted on the fire, with pb and jam of course. It’s a pretty cool night again but I’m typing this sat warmly by the fire listening to the BBC Proms on World Service. The long aerial that came with this great little radio works very well when strung to a nearby tree.

DAY 297: Wooramel Roadhouse to bush camp 7km S of Overlander Roadhouse

2008-08-20T06:23:00.003+01:00

84km @ 16.0 km/hr
Sat 16th August 2008
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 69m
Distance to date 18410 km (11506 miles)

After getting up for the loo at 0530 I couldn’t get warm again for ages so didn’t get back to sleep. This was probably due to having no socks on because I washed them last night - I only have one pair you see, got to save weight where I can! I drifted off and woke up after 8 and still it felt cold because there was a tree blocking the suns warming rays.
After packing up, repairing the ripped tent with duct tape (not very effectively because it doesn’t stick well to the nylon material), trying to mend the holed inner tube (there were 3 holes so I abandoned the idea for now) and breakfasting, I went around to the roadhouse to say goodbye to my hosts. As I entered I could smell freshly-baked cakes, and indeed there was a cabinet full of Danish pastries hot from the oven. This was an opportunity too rare to miss - all you usually get at these places are pre-bagged muffins made God knows where - so
I bought one and devoured it with iced coffee; a great start to the day! The cake was delicious; full marks to the baker.
It was after 10 then when I actually got away, with a nice NE part-tailwind helping me along. I’d only been going for 15 minutes when I came across 2 more cyclists heading north. They were Mick and Murray, supported in 4WD by Marie, and they have been crossing Australia via gravel tracks all the way from the east coast for several weeks. The guys were older than me and looked very fit indeed. They have raised $15000 for the Flying Doctor Service so far, a great effort. We swopped stories for a while before they headed off to Wooramel Roadhouse for some of the Danish pastries that I told them about. After we parted I realised I had again forgotten to get their photo, doh....
The first 40km was more scenic than of late, with the road bending around a couple of small mountain ranges. It’s a bit hilly too, but this made a nice change actually after the blandness of the past week. There was little in the way of a shoulder unfortunately, but the road wasn’t that busy to cause worry. There were increasingly large areas of wild flowers on the gravel shoulder, mostly yellow and purple with pleasant scents.
After 40km the road became straight and dead flat again, and soon after that the NE wind became a SE wind and all of a sudden I was having to work harder to go 40% slower! Not nice...but I grinned and bore it with fortitude (a little bit anyway!).
After 76km I arrived at the Overlander Roadhouse, and celebrated with an ice cream, bottle of Fanta and a big bag of oranges from a fruit stall outside. It was an opportune time to phone Lyn too, it being 0930 in the UK on Saturday morning, and she sounded in good spirits. It’s wet and windy in Caithness, and apparently the Mey Games last weekend that Charles and Camilla attended was a washout. It’s such a shame when so much work goes into organising these things, but that’s Caithness for ‘ee, and I'm sure HRH is well used to it after all the times he's been up there. He'd probably be into the Highland Park to warm himself up...
After exhausting the delights of the roadhouse I set off again south, intending to ride at least 5km (out of silent night noise range of the roadhouse generator) then look for a camping site. I found one OK, and picked my way back to the fence very carefully after the thorns of the other night; even then I trod on a few that stuck in my feet so I knew they were there. I can recognise the plant, but around here there’s so much stuff growing you can’t see the wood for the trees.
As I was setting up I noticed that there was a bird’s nest just a couple of feet above where I’d parked the bike, and a few metres from the tent - drat - there were 2 chicks in it too, missing mum, who had presumably been frightened off by me. I sat quietly sipping the last of the red wine over at the tent and with relief saw her come back and settle back on the nest, and she seemed quite happy after that. I had to consult Simpson and Day since I didn’t recognise the species, and it turned out to be a Diamond Dove - described as ‘common’ to this area. The chicks were just newly-hatched little brown balls of fur with no markings yet. All’s well that ends well...I’llhave to creep about as carefully as I can.

DAY 296: Bush camp to Wooramel Roadhouse

2008-08-20T06:22:00.001+01:00

90km @ 16.1 km/hr
Fri 15th August 2008
Sunny, 26 deg C
Elevation of /destination 23m
Distance to date 18326 km (11454 miles)

Being exposed to the road didn’t bother me as much as it might have earlier in this trip - I’m getting more relaxed about this issue now - anyhow I slept well, apart from waking up when a couple of noisy lorries passed by.
I got away soon after 8 and was pleased to find a NE wind as opposed to yesterday’s southerly - whereas yesterday’s was right in front of me this morning’s was bang on the left side. It was still quite a plod thought, and the landscape didn’t change all day either; just patchy bushes but lots of Nothern Bluebell clumps at the roadside. It was dead straight and flat - 34km without a bend to start off, then another 26km, then 6, i.e. just 2 bends in 66km!
I stopped for nearly a couple of hours at the only rest area (at 46km) and had a good look at the rear tyre that had the puncture yesterday to make sure nothing sharp remained embedded. I couldn’t see anything so refitted this tyre onto the front wheel since it is also more worn than the other. The front went on the rear and the spare went back in the bag again. I had a good lunch and lots of tea and repeated exactly what I’d done this morning - no changes to terrain!
The wind remained on the left, but occasionally got behind more, but essentially I just ground away relentlessly for another 2.5 hours. I’d more or less made my mind up to just get a shower at the Wooramel Roadhouse, but when I asked about the price the lady owner said I could stay in the caravan park for nothing! “Well”, she said, “you’ve ridden here under your own steam so you deserve it”, or words to that effect! How nice, and how could I refuse? They only bought this place 2 months ago, so are just settling in; they lived in Kalgoorlie originally. Anyway after muffin and iced coffee I went to set up on REAL grass for a change, but disaster struck again when the tent pole broke and the tent collapsed. Several of the connecting joints on this MSR Hubba Hubba have split and I’ve been mending these with duct tape, but this time it was a key joint that fits into the hub and takes a lot of stress. Luckily I still had the piece of repair tubing that came with the tent so with a bit of jiggerypokery I was able to effect the repair - but will it last? The broken pole stuck through the tent outer and caused a big rip too. I’m taking the thing back to Mountain Designs in Perth where I bought it last October to see if I can get some new poles - and see if they’ll do anything about the broken zips too. It’s true it’s had a lot of use but even so it was $500 plus and I expected more of a life than this! I have tried to look after it.
I had a wonderful shower in the lovely clean facilities, then some nice socialising with a few other campers in the kitchen as I cooked and ate an excellent spaghetti

DAY 295: Bush camp to bush camp 37km S of Carnarvon

2008-08-20T06:21:00.001+01:00

50km @ 13.3 km/hr
Thurs 14th August 2008
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 6m
Distance to date 18236 km (11397 miles)

I was glad to quit this camp this morning; too many ants, flies and a busy road, being so close to Carnarvon, the biggest town since Port Hedland. Loading up the bike was hard with nowhere to lean it - just thick bushes everywhere; no trees.
Within half an hour I had turned off the Northern Coastal Highway for Carnarvon, and straight into 4km of industrial estate - reminiscent of Coff’s Harbour in NSW. Were planners involved here at all I ask myself? It makes a town ugly for me if you have to enter it in this way. The roads were busy so I jumped on the cycle track - OK, at least there was one! I passed about 6 caravan parks before spotting a shopping centre complex; ah, must be the town centre! A little further on is the concrete esplanade / sea frontage area, which is pretty bland in my opinion, and I had a quick cycle along the coastal path which ends abruptly inside 1km. I was considerably underinspired by what I’d seen so far.
I went in the VIC to ask about caravan park prices, but they had no price list, and I learnt that they were very full at the moment, which didn’t sound good. I was already planning my exit! They had internet at the VIC though, which I availed myself for a full 2 hours ($12) to keep you, my readers, happy. I uploaded all the pics that I couldn’t manage at Coral Bay and answered lots of e-mails. I was pleased to see 2 more generous donations to WaterAid via the website too.
Next job was shopping to restock food supplies, and I bought too much as usual. I was just forcing it all into the panniers when this German lady (now resident in Albany WA) came to chat. Her name is Ute (pronounced ootay not yewt!) and she is a mad keen cyclist and environmentalist. I was very impressed with her green principles which are much sounder than my modest attempts in comparison. Her and hubby head south tomorrow and she had promised to stop when they reach me to give me fruit and water! Look forward to that! Her enthusiasm was infectious, and it’s a treat to meet people like her once in a while - like Renee in Cairns who similarly struck me. I am reminded that there is hope for the planet with such individuals around.
Anyway after some lunch, and topping-up of water and petrol for the stove, I hit the Coastal Highway south, having decided there was no attraction for me in staying in Carnarvon. As expected, having read the weather forecast in the paper, the wind was southerly and in my face, and fairly fresh too. At least there was a shoulder, and a bit of tree cover in places, but much of the rest of the day was in open country with the wind gusting into me. The road is undulating for the first 20km, before flattening out. I decided to keep going until around 5 to try and get as many km in as I could, but then after 5 I couldn’t see a decent camping spot in this open country. Eventually, as the sun was low in the sky, I saw a clump of trees and thankfully dived into the bush on the right.
That’s when things went pear-shaped. There were millions of flies which descended in droves and covered me all over; worse even that that, there were lots of jackthorns that were sticking to my clothes and bags - and into my rear tyre, which was now flat! These are pea-sized seeds with 3 or 4 very sharp short spines sticking out of the sides at different angles, and I already had my tent laid out before realising that they were sticking straight through the ground sheet and tent bottom so no way could I sleep here! By this time the sun had dipped below the horizon; I had a flat tyre, and nowhere to pitch the tent - oops! I had to move on, so resigned myself to this, loaded up the gear again, and with the tyre still flat dragged the whole lot back to the road, where I stripped everything off again and turned the bike upside down to sort the puncture out.
It’s a good job it stays light for half an hour or so after dusk, so I was able to fit a new (repaired) tube and the old spare tyre. The tyre I’d just removed needed to be thoroughly checked for thorns, and I didn’t have time to do that at the moment. There was nowhere to lean the bike as usual so reloading the bags was difficult as I tried to fit the heavy panniers and balance the bike upright at the same time. By the time I’d done this it was almost dark, but I still had to find a pitch. I had no intention of entering the bush round here again with all the thorns around, so I had to go against principles and camp in the open on an area of clean red sand. I was about 50m from the road, so darkness probably hides me somewhat; anyway it’ll just have to do!
I got set up quickly with the help of the light from an almost-full moon, and was soon enjoying a de-stressing mug of red vino, and preparing sandwich dinner with fresh wholemeal bread newly-bought today, followed by copious fruitcake and mugs of tea. Traffic became lighter as the evening wore on, so this doesn’t feel too bad a site now.

DAY 294: Bush camp to bush camp 9km N of Carnarvon

2008-08-14T03:03:00.005+01:00

108km @ 16.4 km/hr
Weds 13th August 2008
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 11m
Distance to date 18186 km (11366 miles)

PLEASE NOTE - I've now posted pics for the last 10 days - now all up to date.

Another chilly morning, and therefore a sluggish start. There was a nice display by a flock of Masked Woodswallows around the tent, or were they Cuckoo Shrikes? I wasn’t 100% sure; they are similar to the unfamiliar like me. Away by 0900 with a light E/NE wind on the side or slightly behind. The busier highway has boasted a decent bitumen shouder since I joined it yesterday north of Minilya Roadhouse and this continued today, although it became quite small later on today. There are alternately moderate undulations and straight, flat sections.
It was harder work today since the wind was more on the side, and lighter, and it was seldom that I managed more then 20 km/hr. I saw another of the ugly lizard-like creature in exactly the same position on the road as yesterday, and stopped to have a closer look. As I did a motorist slowed down, thinking I might be in trouble as I was stopped, and just about ran over the poor wee critter. I was gesticulating for him to stop before he reached it but he didn’t understand me. I thanked him for stopping anyway, and after he’d gone I coud see the thing was OK, but he must have missed squashing it by millimetres! Hope I find out what they are.
I stopped for an extended lunch again once I’d finally found a shady spot where I could both access and lean the bike up - this took a long time to find. Flies were a nuisance; they seem to be steadily getting more numerous. I had to wear the head net again once they’d reached the ‘annoying me to death’ stage.
I started looking for a campsite around 4 with 30km to go, but it was tricky - the vegetation was prolific and hard to penetrate. On one occasion I got in behind some good cover to find millions of flies, massive spider’s webs with red and black evil-looking residents that I didn’t fancy disturbing, and jungle-style undergrowth, so it was exit stage left again. Then I came to an area 12km N of Carnarvon that is WA’s main centre for fruit and veg growing, so it was quite a busy area, then after that more jungle terrain, but beyond that was an area set back from the road where I found some decent patches to camp on. Even then the first couple of spots were alive with ants, that at one point I found myself wading through with some crawling up my legs.
I set up OK, and had a good dinner, but as it went dark thousands of mozzies came out to play - the first I’ve seen in weeks - and despite applying repellent asap they had got me in several places, even on the soles of my feet! There seems to be more water around here; hence the fruit and veg crops and mozzies.

DAY 293: Coral Bay to bush camp 24km S of Minilya Roadhouse

2008-08-14T03:02:00.001+01:00

122km @ 17.6 km/hr
Tues 12th August 2008
Sunny, 26 deg C
Elevation of /destination 8m
Distance to date 18078 km (11299 miles)

Leisurely start but a very quiet breakfast in the communal area; I have found it hard to engage with people here without a big effort, and this morning I just couldn’t be bothered to put the work in. People are just such hard work sometimes for me - just let me get back on the bike please! I find under-25’s especially are sometimes too self-absorbed to take any interest in communicating with anyone outside their peer group - people my age are akin to aliens.
I collected my $20 deposit for the room key and called in at the grocery next door for more muesli and a lovely fresh wholemeal loaf. This would have been made at the village bakery next door, which is a real asset to the place, as I told them so yesterday. I tried to pack it in the panniers without squashing; always a challenge.
I finally left at 0920 and straight into a NE headwind. The 13km to the highway was as hard work as it was on the way in - it all seems uphill as before, weird, because the wind hasn’t changed direction!
Turning south onto the highway changed matters, and for an hour I was pushed along nicely, but as the road bent east a little the wind was on the side, which felt harder. I stopped after 45km for a good hour’s break and a fair few slices of the fresh bread with hazelnut spread and 2 mugs of tea, but after this the wind fell behind more and speed increased along with my motivation. The first 60km today passed through very bare country with virtually no trees, and few bushes even; thereafter vegetation increased and thickened considerably. The Chiming Wedgebills were practising their scales all around me - my Simpson and Day birdie book amusingly describes their voise as “descending chime ‘why did you get drunk?’ Repeated monotonously with haunting quality” which sums it up very well. I also had another very strange sighting - on the road carriageway was a weird lizard-like creature; about 125 to 150mm long (5-6”) with a curved tail like a scorpion but front end like a lizard. It’s whole grey-brownish body was covered with dragon-like lumps. It stood stock-still as if to play dead, but when I went close it moved a little. I’ve never seen anything like it, even in a zoo. If anyone can ID it from the pic please let me know what it is.
I passed over the signposted Tropic of Capricorn and made increasingly good progress, and arrived at Minilya Roadhouse (98km) soon after 4. I had an iced coffee and watched the Olympics on TV for a few minutes, tempted to book a $60 room with TV and extend this privelidge, but no, I’ve just coughed up $160 for 2 nights at the Ningaloo Club (shock, horror!) and that’s enough for a while.
I was still feeling highly motivated and pretty strong so pushed on for another 24km until the sun was almost down to the horizon, whereupon I dived into the bush to my left and found a decent site right away some 80m back adacent to the fence.
Once set up I poured my half-mug of red, still a nice temperature from the heat of the day, sat back facing the sunset, and enjoyed the total and profound silence of the bush. The wind had dropped completely, and there was only the faint sound of cicadas clicking away in the far distance. Wonderful and peaceful; my element.
As the loaf was so fresh I decided to have tuna sarnies for dinner - I’ve eaten virtually the whole loaf in the space of just a few hours! Tomorrow I should make Carnarvon since I’m slightly over halfway there from Coral Bay thanks to today’s effort.

DAY 292: Day off Coral Bay

2008-08-14T03:01:00.002+01:00

DAY 292: Day off Coral Bay
Mon 11th August 2008
Sunny, 26 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 17956 km (11222 miles)

Nice to sleep in a real bed for a change, and I was surprised how much warmer it is here at night compared to the last few weeks. There’s a fan in the room, which I employed to mask the hubbub emanating from the bar - it wasn’t excessive but I tend to tune into these distractions almost against my will. I think it may be the grumpy old man syndrome that increasingly afflicts me!
I only had to get around to the ticket office by 0915 for the whale-watching tour so as it was only 100m away I could afford to take my time.
There were around a dozen people on the tour, which included snorkelling on the reef, and we initially headed out to the deeper waters just beyond the reef where the whales have been seen lately. Within the hour we had spotted a pod of 3 Humpbacks a few hundred metres away, and we shut off engines and kind of drifted towards them. They were 2 females and a calf - one was the mother and one (we were told) was either a relative such as an aunt, or a female without a calf for some reason. They stick together for security and companionship. It’s the first time I’ve seen a whale up close, and they are an amazing site - the adults 7 or 8m long and 30 tonnes or so in weight. They obigliged by doing all the whale-type things like breaching, wagging huge tails, and blowing off (exhaling!). A great thing to see. At one point one of the females cut across the calf as it started heading towards the boat, possibly curious of us and the boat. These Humpbacks are still moving north, and as summer comes on they’ll head back to the Antarctic to feed (the females don't feed at all for months as they travel north).
We also saw a couple of Dugongs - big seal-like creatures that apparently gave rise to the mermaid myth. (Very drunken) sailors were it seems attracted to the wavy tail; you get the gyst. We later moved to a ‘turtle sanctuary’ - a protected area for 3 different species - and many of them obliged us with an appearance on cue. It was quite a good value trip, there was plenty of snacky food around too to add to my pleasure.
I didn’t go snorkelling in the end, the water was quite cold, and I was content to laze about on the deck, in the sun, with most of the others. Good tour though, good value.
On getting back I went to upload, but the internet connection was very slow and I could only manage to send the text component, not a chance with the images. I was somewhat annoyed that the place charges $8/hr for what is tantamount to dial-up speed, but there were plenty of punters using the service nevertheless. Money for jam; big money for very poor service!
I strolled down to the beach to watch the spectacular sunset, and it was very beautiful, but might have been better shared with someone as usual. It is hard travelling alone at times, yet at other times it is certainly a distinct advantage. One can’t have it all ways! I had supper at the backpackers again, and a couple of beers, and got chatting to a few young folk from the UK. Tomorrow I head off again, and although Coral Bay is OK, there’s really nothing to do here apart from spend money on tours and in shops - maybe morewill come as this very young town matures.

DAY 291: Giralia Station to Coral Bay

2008-08-11T08:34:00.004+01:00

sectoo

Sun 10th August 2008
106km @ 19.8 km/hr
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 17956 km (11222 miles)

I was pretty tired so Mr.Snorer didn’t keep me awake, so I didn't have to throw anything at him, and in fact I slept very well. I awoke to a couple of hundred Corellas screaming and squawking over the sleepy campers. I could also hear the resident nags wandering around bumming early scraps from the punters, so took my cue to pack up before breakfast. The red dust was everywhere, and the station owners clearly don’t bother to water to try and get the grass to grow, very mucky underfroot.
It was quite nice to have a kitchen though, and I took advantage of the toaster to use the last 3 muffins, spread with PB and rhubarb jam.
I picked my way back along the 4km gravel road, which wasn’t too bad going the other way, but once back on the bitumen it was hard yakka with a draggy uphill for 12km, at which point it got quite hilly. The wind was on the side so no help whilst on this section of road (the Burkett link road) but as I had decided not to ride north to Cape Range NP (it’s fully 360km round trip to the end of the NP road from the junction I was coming to), if the wind stayed put for a few hours it woud be behind me to Coral Bay. All along this road I coud hear the song of the Chiming Wedgebill - 4 bright and resonant descending notes as if they were practising their scales.
I stopped at the junction with the Exmouth to Carnarvon road for a cuppa and snack, then was pleased to note that I did indeed have a tailwind, and a good one too. I flew the 50km south to the Coral Bay turn in just over 2 hours, and in view of the competely open landscape it was fortunate that this wasn’t a headwind, which would have been tough with no shelter. There wasn’t even a tree or bush for much of this section, a desert-like scenario. The road undulates gently in long straights. Still plenty of wild flowers though, and I caught the scent from time to time.
Although the NE wind was not quite in front of me on the Coral Bay road speed dropped considerably, and it gets quite hilly too. Still very open landscape with views of the sea as I got closer to the coast.
Coral Bay is a very small community, entirely, as far as I can see, devoted to tourism - the Ningaloo Reef comes down this far, and there are tours for whale-watching, swimming with Manta Rays etc., and 2 large caravan parks, which happened to be competely full, even for a small tent. I opted to stay at the smart Ningaloo Club backpackers, and pushed the boat out by booking a room to myself ($80/nt). This meant I could keep the bike in the room, which gives me a good chance to check it over thoroughly. I also booked a whale-watching tour for tomorrow ($120) - I fancied snorkelling with Manta Rays (did you now they have the biggest brain of all the fishes, and are extremely playfull?) but they’re booked up until Friday.
I had a quick swim in the (as usual) very cold pool and strode 100m next door to the small shopping complex, where there is a very good bakery - what a range of cakes and pastries they have - and there’s a nice seating area in the middle of the shops. I’m going to enjoy staying here!
In the evening I sat in the bar among the ‘young un’s’ and had one of the very popular house ‘burgers cooked by resident chef - help yourself to salad - very good value for $6.50, and you get a beer for half price too. There’s a big screen showing the Olympics, although no sound unfortunately, so I enoyed my supper with the first TV in months. Very enoyable.
There is internet here but no uploading, but there is another place that does allow which I’ll use tomorrow.

DAY 290: Bush camp to Giralia Station

2008-08-11T08:34:00.003+01:00

Sat 9th August 2008
119km @ 18.0 km/hr
Sunny, 29 deg C
Elevation of /destination 25m
Distance to date 17850 km (11156 miles)

Much to my relief the ants did not overwhelm my tent last night, in fact as it went dark and cooled down they all scattered, presumably back to wherever ants go to keep warm. I didn’t sleep well though, probably due to all the caffiene I had yesterday - I should know better! It was pretty cold again overnight, but I just managed to keep warm enough.
As I lay in bed with muesli I watched the Grey-Crowned Babblers flitting from bush to bush, babbling away incomprehensibly as usual, sounding stessed out. I was far from stressed, not having a care in the world as Lyn rightly reminded me the other day on the phone, and happily hit the road for another chunk of Outback cycling.
Mostly flat, but the road is bumpy and narrow with no shoulder. Although it’s busier than the Tom Price to Nanutarra road it isn’t too threatening, and I only had to jump off a couple of times when 2 vehicles were crossing. This was quite a nice section scenically, little dark red mountains deither side, and lots of wild flowers everywhere, and with them some nice odours. Of course there are no settlemements whatsoever on these roads.
I stopped at the only rest area for the abominable loo (yeuchhh. strooth!!!) but took advantage of an offer of water from an old caravanner couple just to get me by. They also made me a cup of coffee which was welcome.
Just before the Exmouth link road turns off the North West Coastal Highway there’s an information area which has seats and is covered over for shade, so I took the opportunity to get the billy on and have a snack. Several other couples dropped by too with all the usual questions, but we learned plenty from each other about where to go and what to see as ever.
I turned right to head towards Exmouth, but I have been having doubts as to whether I will actually go there, and the main reason for heading that way, to access Cape Range NP where the Ningaloo Reef touches the coast. It’s around a massive 300m detour, and some of that is going to be against the wind in open country; however by heading this way I have another option of visiting Coral Bay, which is supposed to be very nice. I could even hire a car there and drive up to Cape Range...I’ll decide tomorrow.
It was 48km from the turn to Giralia Station caravan park, so I thought I might as well get a shower and see what it was like. The road after the junction is dead straight and flat, and I was fortunate to still have the easterly helping me along, although it wasn’t that strong it was still welcome. This branch road featured lots of clumps of red, ground-hugging Sturt’s Desert Pea along the shoulder - one of WA’s iconic flowers.The CP is down a 4km gravel track which became more corrugated the further along it I went, and the place itself was disappointing - dry and dusty with virtually no grass to pitch on, scruffy-looking, and not a patch on some of the bush sites I’ve found myself. Why did I bother?
At least there was a camp kitchen which I had to myself - I haven’t managed to engage any of the few caravanners here into conversation - but as I type I hear that my nearest neighbour is a world-class snorer - how I despise snorers! I may throw something at his tent later (I wish). Great. Next time I think of opting for a CP when I can camp in the bush I really must talk myself out of it.

DAY 289: Bush camp to bush camp 40km SW of Nanutarra

2008-08-11T08:33:00.001+01:00

Fri 8th August 2008
127km @ 18.5 km/hr
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 100m
Distance to date 17731 km (11082 miles)

My alarm went off at 0620 as usual, but this morning I actually took notice and roused myself. It helped that it wasn’t quite as cold as it has been, and I was packed up and away for 0750.
From a windless start the SE-er gradually gained strength until it was blowing me along nicely. This was the first time for a while I’ve had a consistent tailwind and it was to last all 82km to the junction with the Coastal Highway. The road undulates gently with long straights, picturesque with continuous mountain backdrop and lots of wildflowers along the roadside. The flowers and flowering shrubs gave a pleasant perfume that kept changing in character as different species dominated. By far the commonest is Mulla Mulla with it’s erect violet flowers similar to a truncated lupin and bell-shaped. The road is extremely quiet too, which adds to the enjoyment.
The Dutch lady who had been asking about my trip when in Tom Price passed, slowed down, and shouted “Hi David” through the window which was nice - she offered water but I was OK, and anyway only 30km from Nanutarra Roadhouse and an iced coffee or two.
I was at the roadhouse by 1315 and drinking my first one, and the lady at the counter said without me asking that cyclists can have free filtered water - she said the unfiltered stuff shouldn’t be drunk without boiling - and moreover said I could have a free shower too. But when I went to get the key from the manageress she said it would be $5 for a shower; so I declined, I don’t need one that bad. Then when I went to get my water the filter wasn’t working properly and I could only get about 3 litres of filtered instead of the 8 I wanted! I had to get the balance in untreated water, which is OK, because I can use this for boiling and cooking, or filter it myself with the Katadyn if desperate.
I washed a couple of items in the toilets (well, the sink in fact!) and hung them to dry on the rear rack, and also washed my Assos top and put it back on (nice ‘n cool!), then phoned Lyn since the opportunity time-difference wise does not arise very often, but unfortunately got her out of bed on the very morning she’d planned a lie-in, having had a late night working. She was very gracious about it though as usual, and seemed pleased that I'd rang.
I had a nice long break of 90 minutes or so, then hit the road again for another 40km, although the wind was now right on my left side, or slightly in front, so speed diminished. There was a fence both sides of the road now, this being more fertile cattle country, so it took a while to find a suitable site, but I finally found a drainage channel that led into a well-hidden bit where there just happened to be a flat piece of ground the right size for the tent. Just a few hundred ants to boss around and claim my territory - thankfully they disappeared back to their lair when it went dark and I had the place to myself again.
After a big dinner of rice and tuna I made some ‘iced’ coffee - powdered full-cream milk, strong shot of instant espresso and 2 sugars, poured into my spare drinks bottle to cool overnight if I can wait that long (in fact I drank this half an hour later as soon as it was cold, and then had trouble sleeping!!).
I see I got the dates wrong in the blog, so I’ll try and remember to correct that next time I upload.

DAY 288: Bush camp to bush camp 86km SE of Nanutarra

2008-08-11T08:32:00.004+01:00

Thurs 7th August 2008
103km @ 16.9 km/hr
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 181m
Distance to date 17604 km (11002 miles)

I must have been asleep before 9 since I’d felt very tired, but I awoke at 3 for a pee and once back in the bag I was too cold to sleep. I lay shivering for an hour but still hadn’t warmed up, so I put on all the clothing I had, which must have done the trick, as I didn’t wake up until the sun was blazing into the tent at 0740. I made an extra-rich dried milk mix for the muesli as a treat - it tasted like cream - then got on the road just after 9.
Initially the moderate SE wind blew me along nicely, but within the hour it dropped altogether, and for most of the day thereafter there was either no wind at all or it blew up briefly from any direction, so not much wind assistance today unfortunately. It was a reasonably pleasant ride through a long mountain range; gently undulating and little traffic to contend with. I had to stop after just 30m as I was very hungry, and eventually found a shady spot with leaning tree; not easy!
Not so many wild flowers today but plenty of cows who stared at me in amazement like groupies to a superstar, but these ones didn’t run away.
I was pleased to top 100km again since this was quite a hard day - this leaves me within reasonable striking distance of the Nanutarra Roadhouse by around 1500 tomorrow, so I can set that as a target and reward - big nosh and iced coffee! I have no idea what the wind will do though, it’s full of surprises lately. It’s usually SE in the mornings though, which as I’m heading NW again in the morning will be good, but I’m not holding my breath.
I found a good bush camp at first try tonight - a cracker too - behind a small rocky outcrop about 100m from the road and well hidden. There’s a convenient fireplace between some rocks, plenty of dry wood, and a nice shady rock ledge to sit on and watch the sunset whilst imbibing - a cup of red first while it’s still at 24 degrees, then some white as I eat when it’s gone cooler than the red. Oh, I'm so organised lol. I so enjoy this time - the feeling of peace and solitude it gives me is priceless - I’ve been looking forward to it all day! Bush camping is a wonderful experience.

DAY 287: Tom Price to bush camp 5km W of Ashburton Downs t/o

2008-08-11T08:32:00.003+01:00

Weds 6th August 2008
106km @ 16.9 km/hr
Sunny, 27 deg C
Elevation of /destination 285m
Distance to date 17501 km (10938 miles)

Another very quiet night in the CP and very cold first thing so reluctant to get up again. The camp kitchen here is well out of the sun and consequently freezing in the morning so I left breakfast until as late as possible and got everything packed up first. Swopped website names and said goodbye to my neighbours after the kids had been playing soccer with the 2 resident ‘roos - they’re quite good (the ‘roos I mean). I managed to extract myself from yet more questioning about my trip from some other well-intentioned campers and get away just on 9 and straight onto the gravel road for Nanutarra and eventually to Exmouth.

This road is about to be metalled for the first 10km or so and the water bowser and roller were on the go, causing much red mud to be flicked up all over the bike. Still, it’s nice and flat, and in fact the whole 68km of gravel from Tom Price to the Paraburdoo to Nanutarra bitumen road is in very good condition. This may be due to the fact that it is so little used - I only saw a dozen or so other vehicles on this stretch. Scenery is very nice too, with continuous rolling hills either side of the road. There are plenty of undulations though, many with very steep, but mercifully short, jump-ups, where I had to push a couple of times. I punctured after some 40km - I just glanced back to check that the heavy water bags were still secure, since they sometimes start to slide off on bumpy roads - and that momentary loss of attention to the road caused me to ride over a large stone which caused a pinch flat. Of course there was nowhere to lean the bike so I had to strip the bags off without leaning the bike against anything, which is very awkward, as is putting them all back on again.
There are only occasional corrugations but I could easily pick my way around these. I was probably travelling just as fast on this road as I would be on a bitumen one. Spinifex Pigeons abounded, flapping away noisily as I approached, but not so many wild flowers as I’ve seen lately.
Once on the bitumen again the road continues in the same WSW direction so the moderate SE wind was just behind me, or sometimes on the side. Even this road is very quiet - I guess many folk use the coastal highway via Karratha. Suits me! The mountains continue and there is plenty of small tree cover suitable for camping, athough at my first attempt to camp the ground was covered with nasty tri-cornered Jackthorns, about 100 of which took an instant attatchment to my socks. I eventually found a nice flat site about 100m from the road but well-hidden. Once again I could sit back and admire the sunset, partly hidden by the hills, with glass of wine. I have a 2l bag each of Chardonay and Cabernet in the discreet 4l water bag to choose from. I didn’t bother cooking tonight, although I had a nice fire going, so just had tuna sandwiches. In fact, I’ve found out that I can use the petrol stove anyway; I’m able to prime the fuel by pumping with very short strokes such that the plunger doesn’t stick down at the bottom of the cyclinder, which is good news. The guy at Muzzie’s Hardware in Tom Price went to a lot of trouble to try and fix this thing for me, unsuccesfully, but much appreciated.
Beautiful and quiet here as I type by the fireside, crescent moon setting above me; just the distant clicking of crickets to be heard.

DAY 286: Day 2 off Tom Price

2008-08-11T08:31:00.001+01:00

Tues 5th August 2008
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of destination 708m
Distance to date 17395 km (10872 miles)

A cold night and dawn meant I stayed put, warm in sleeping bag, despite the usual early clatter of campers all around me as they prepared to leave. Some time after 8 I finally crawled out into the warming new day and went for my toast, butter (a temporary luxury much enjoyed) and rhubarb jam. Some time later after lengthy conversation with holiday family I realised I needed to speed up to get to the VIC to join the 1000 mine tour.
This is a 2-hour tour of Tom Price mine, owned by Rio Tinto / Pilbara Iron; one of the biggest iron ore mines in Australia, one of the world’s major suppliers of this ore, which is in huge demand at the moment due to buying from China. It was very interesting; facts came at us such as a tripling of save price to $220 (£115) per tonne; production from this mine alone of 28 million tonnes/year; 4 trains a day 2km long hauling $3M-worth of ore to the port of Dampier for shipping to China; massive dumper trucks with 3.5m diameter wheels whose tyres cost $100,000 each and only last 10 months; 220 tonne capacity dumpers which use 20 litres of fuel per km etc. It’s a huge operation making millions for the owners, and good wages for the workers too - a driver (male and female) will get $100,000 pa (£48,000). The town of Tom Price, named after an American who fought long and hard to persuade the company to develop a mine in this area and who died of a heart attack a few hours after learning of the discovery of a rich vein of pure ore here that guaranteed the go-ahead of development, was built by the mining company but was later taken over by the local council. The driver and guide was full of wisecracks as usual - one of his stories was about a tourist who was seen swimming in the towns large sewage pond and refused to get out even when told of his surroundings. The mate of the guy pleading with him to get out shrugged his shoulders, and said with typical Aussie humour “he’ll be OK, he’s not swimming, he’s only going through the motions”. “Yes, the guy said, but he’s the turd one we’ve found!” I think that stories probably a load of crap! You get the gist I think! A pretty good tour for $22, plus the $15 for a pair of trainers I had to buy due to the ‘closed-in shoes rule’ which I subsequently gave to the Op-shop (charity shop).
After a quick lunch and more shopping, back at the CP I got chatting to the family next door, and I was invited to join them in a 4WD drive up Mount Nameless, which lies right behind the CP and dominates the town. They have just returned from 16 years working in Japan and will set up home in Brisbane when they stop touring Oz next January. There’s a a great view of the surrounding land and of the mine from up there.
I had to pop into town again for some stuff I’d forgot to get, and I thought again what a cosy little place this is, and how I’ve enjoyed my few days here.
I bought croissants for dinner for a change, and filled with pastrami and garlic sauce. The best butter was very hard out of the fridge so I spread Greek yoghurt on first, which was very palatable. It got very cold and I was soon sat up in the tent reading and blogging with sleeping bag pulled up as far as possible.

DAY 285: Day 1 off Tom Price

2008-08-11T08:30:00.001+01:00

Mon 4th August 2008
Sunny, some cloud, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 708m
Distance to date 17395 km (10872 miles)

The caravan park had filled up substantially last evening but despite tents either side of me I slept OK. I enjoyed the luxury of an electric toaster and a new jar of rhubarb jam to spread thereon before riding into town to upload for the first time in 10 days. These long delays will be common now until I get to down to Geraldton and Perth.

I set up to upload at Mount Nameless Internet Cafe but the 2 PC’s I tried didn’t work properly, so I gave up and went to the VIC, but their system wasn’t working either. Third time lucky, the computer shop machines were OK and I spent the next 90 minutes and $10 there doing my stuff.
I wanted to go on a tour of the local iron ore mine which operates once a day, but one has to has ‘closed-in’ footwear, and I only have sandals, so I found a $15 pair of trianers in Coles that will do the job. Maybe if I keep them clean I can take them back for a refund after the tour lol.
Not much else to report - mostly eating and chilling out, and gaining strength for some possibly tough days ahead if the wind assistance is indeed to be in short supply in the days ahead./
The centre of Tom Price is occupied by hundreds of Corellas who come and stand right next to you when you get some food out (pic). I haven’t seen any other birds here so they’ve obviously seen them off and taken over the town. They look very comical with their Mohican haircut, staggery old-man walk and heads cocked to one side looking up at you wistfully, willing you to feed them.

DAY 284: Bush camp to Tom Price

2008-08-04T03:47:00.004+01:00

44km @ 17.6 km/hr
Sun 3rd August 2008
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 708m
Distance to date 17395 km (10872 miles)

The many local birds made a nice alarm clock, sounding off just before dawn. I didn’t have that far to go today, but the earlier I get to Tom Price the more I can get done and save tomorrow for exploring and internet. Only nuts and a cup of milk for breakfast unfortunately, but I’ll be in a cafe for breakfast proper in no time, I expect and hope. At least I haven’t so much weight to haul.
The 8% hill that I stopped at the foot of yesterday afternoon was still there this morning, but at least there was no headwind, in fact a small SE-erly was in the making. The hill was only 1km long thankfully, followed by a screamer descent of 68 km/hr (wheeeee!), then some quite large undulations as far as the T-junction at the Paraburdoo to Tom Price road. Thereafter it’s a gradual uphill to TP but it didn’t seem so draggy today since the sE wind was right behind me agan. The scenery all the way was very nice, big green hills with horizontal red stripes where the surface has slipped away to expose the rock beneath. There was little traffic on the Sabbath to worry about. Huge iron ore trains could be seen at several points where the road runs near the line from the mine, up to the port of Karratha I think, for export to Asia. These trains are about 2km long typically, with 3 locos pushing and 3 pulling. I’d hate to get caught at a level crossing with one about to come because they don't go very fast!
Tom Price seems a decent little place, greener than the other mining towns I’ve passed through like Mt.Isa or Port Hedland, and it boasts a goodly-sized Coles supermarket which I’m looking forward to raiding later. I got some good info from the VIC lady about places ahead of here, and it seems she knew that I was the guy seen on the gravel in Karijini NP - fame at last!
There is only one CP in TP so I paid my $29 for 2 nights and got set up with the pick of the camping spots, this still being before noon and the park almost empty. There is reasonable shade. I set about several chores immediately - washing clothes, cleaning all the dust off the bike and bags and charging batteries, in and between approaches by several caravanners who have seen me on the road and wanted to know all the usual stuff. "How many tyres have you gone through?" is the current favourite question. Touring cyclists are that rare I guess. Some scarcely believe it possible that someone could cycle all around Oz - such a thought is alien to them. I find it slightly embarassing somehow as I don’t think it’s SUCH a big deal.
I ‘phoned Lyn at around 0900 UK time and we had a good blather for a while, then I rode off with 2 empty panniers to Coles to buy food and drink - lots of it lol, then to the bottle shop for some beer. I bought steak, sausage and veg for a barbie, which was enjoyed in the busy camper’s kitchen swopping stories with other travelvers. Followed by fruit and Greek yoghurt, followed by Rocky Road and banana milk drink. Well, I didn’t have any lunch.....roll on breafast!
The piece

DAY 283: Karijini Eco Retreat to bush camp 31km N of Tom Price

2008-08-04T03:46:00.005+01:00

51km @ 10.5 km/hr
Sat 2nd August 2008
Sunny, 27 deg C
Elevation of /destination 768m
Distance to date 17351 km (10844 miles)

Hit the road around 0845 and straight into the horribly rough gravel. I picked my way through as best I could, and after 3km where the gravel road continues to the Karijini west gate, new road to me, things improved a little - but not for long. Within a short time the surface was abysmal - full-width corrugations which were immediately bordered with loose deep gravel. Where the ruts eased occasionally there big stones in the matrix which caused a very bumpy ride. It was sheer misery, and I had to dismount time and time again where the road was just unrideable. What was ‘fun’ yesterday unladen was ‘hell’ with all the weight on. There were many steep, short climbs too that often caused me to walk, and the road climbed steadily for 20km - only gaining some 150m in height but enough to add to the pain. The scenery was very nice with craggy red hills and a wide selection of wild flowers, but I was usually too busy concentrating on staying upright to take it in.
The last few km of the 29km to the bitumen were better, and it was with relief that I rode back on the highway. As I was getting a drink an old VW Campervan stopped and a young couple stopped to chat, and gave me an apple and orange, which were gratefully accepted.
For a few km the wind was behind me and I was motoring at 25, but all too soon it flipped from SE to west, and I was ploughing up yet another draggy incline into a fresh headwind. I had trouble even making 10 km/hr, and I went through a bad patch mentally. Although I haven’t covered much distance today I felt very tired, and resolved to find a bush site and camp up, even though it was barely 3. Only 25km from Tom Price and a Coles Supermarket, plus all the other joys of a medium-sized town, too. I really expected to get there today.
I finally found a site very close to a sign announcing a 4km 8% hill, and the thought of grinding up that into a strengthening headwind was too much so just as well! I’m ahead of schedule, so my current slow progress isn’t significant yet. My luck with the wind has deserted me temporarily what with it shifting around to my disadvantage it seems.
I felt much better after lighting a fire and getting supper done and ate; this seems quite a nice site. It was quite stony though, and I had to tear a few armfuls of flower-laden branches down to lay beneath the tent to smooth things out. Plenty of birds around here in what is the only large group of dense trees for quite a distance.

DAY 282: Day off Karijini Eco Retreat

2008-08-04T03:46:00.003+01:00

25km @ 10.8 km/hr
Fri 1st August 2008
Sunny, scattered coud, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 694m
Distance to date 17300 km (10812 miles)

A cool night again, but I’d decided to have another day here and ‘do’ the other gorges - a good decision as it turned out. No rush to get up, so I waited for the sun to get well up into the sky before abandoning the warm and cosy pit. I went to the kitchen to make a cuppa and chatted to a young German couple, but got cold again in the early breeze and went and got back into the sleeping bag and had my muesli lay in there.
I went and paid another $25 (grrr) and set off for Knox Gorge 12km away a la gravel. It’s hard yakka keeping going and upright but I quite enjoyed it with no panniers, tyres deflated and no time constraints. There are some short but very steep hills on the Knox Gorge road, and I resorted to pushing a couple of times. It was well worth it though - I was blown away by the walk down into the gorge; a scramble down a very steep track which is the original terrain rather than a constructed track, and down to the gorge floor 100m below. The gorge is 5 to 10m wide and again there is no constructed path; you make your own way along bare rocks, stepping-stone river crossings, vertical rock ledges requiring fingertip holds etc. It takes some care, and is not for the faint hearted. I didn’t have the right shoes - walking boots are recommended - so went very slowly and delibeartely. Vivid red dragonflies flitted around like huge sparks, and wide, flat water boatmen glided over the surface like gondolas. Some people braved the icy pools for a dip, but not I - too unpeasant unless it’s a scorching day! As walks go, it was amazing - unforgettable! It was quite a scramble back up to the top, and I was puffing by the time I’d finished. There’s a look-out at the top of the gorge where you can see the walkers way below, which is as far as most able people get - shame, they’re missing a lot.
Back on the bike, I rode 4.5km back down the road and popped into Joffre Gorge. Another look-out here where I watched a few hardy souls opposite and below descending what appeared to be a vertical rock face to the gorge floor. I followed the rocky path around the waterfall to have a look for myself what the way down was like, and it wasn’t quite as steep as it looked - 80 degrees rather than 90 lol - so decided to give it a go. There are yellow arrows showing you which route to take, which makes it safer, but really this is rock climbing in an albeit simple form. It felt quite safe though, and I made sure I had a good hand holds before moving every time. Unlike Knox Gorge you can’t walk up the gorge, but there’s still plenty to see down there; there’s a large, deep green pool, and off towards the waterfall upstream, through a narrow opening, is the natural amphitheatre - a 50m diameter bowl hewn out by the action of the river over millions of years. You again have to edge around the vertical wall to get into it. It’s a fantastic sight, and I’m glad I did come and see these other gorges after all; they have far exceeded expectations. The pics will hopefully show what it’s like.
It was now turned 3 and I was pretty whacked, but had to endure the gravel for another 8km back to Eco Retreat. I bought a barbecue pack - I couldn’t wait for the restaurant and it could be cold again tonight anyhow, so after a shower (another cold one) I cooked the meagre and vastly- overpriced steak and sausage, and made a pile of pasta to go with it, for an early lunch /dinner. I chatted to a couple from Bunbury WA who were travelling to Darwin to get work, and it turned out that like myself the lady had like been to stay at the Findhorn Foundation, and had lived there for a few months 7 years ago - small world! She went to Scotland from Oz especially for that.
The sun was setting in a spectacualar manner due to stringy cloud on the western horizon as I got back to the tent; for a few minutes there was a vertical ray of light pointing up from the sun beautiful end to an amazing day. The Pilbara gorges have turned out to be among the highlights of my Oz tour; unforgettable.

DAY 281: Dales Gorge to Karijini Eco Retreat

2008-08-04T03:45:00.004+01:00

72km @ 11.7 km/hr
Thurs 31st July 2008
Cloudy, 22 deg C
Elevation of /destination 694m
Distance to date 17275 km (10797 miles)

Didn’t sleep too well for some reason but awoke early nevertheless to a neighbouring smoker coughing liberally over his or her first fag of the day. I decided to just get up and go, and after brekkie of jam butties got away by 0730.
I had originally thought to just head for Tom Price via the main bitumen road, and forego all the Karijini gorges, but changed my mind soon after setting off since I felt strong and positive enough to tackle the gravel through to the gorges, and Eco Retreat camping. I’d heard the road was rough, which had put me off, plus the ground is so hard for tenting in Karijini - loose red stone that last night felt like sleeping on a bed of nails - but hey, I’m up to it! Plus there’s a nice restaurant at Eco and SHOWERS too! I’m pretty mucky after 5 nights bush camping.
The first 11.5 km from Dale is bitumen, but just after the visitor centre the gravel starts and there will be no more bitumen today, or tomorrow for that matter.
The surface actually wasn’t too bad at first - for the first 20km I rode down a nice flattish strip in the centre of the road and allowed what little traffic there was to pass either side of me, which they were quite happy about. A tour bus stopped and the young lady co-pilot, who was a keen cyclist, asked me lots of questions and gave me an orange - cheers luv. I was pleased with my progress and at one point when the SE wind was behind me I was actually doing 30 - bit dodgy though on gravel, calm down buoy, there are still some rough patches here and there! The SE was short-lived though because very soon it was a a NW-er right in front of me, and my speed halved. Undaunted I plugged on, but the road surface deteriorated with increased and sometimes deep corrugation right across the road, and sandy patches, and I had to weave about at walking pace trying to find the best line to take. Hitting deep corrugations at speed is a scary experience, it feels like the bike is shaking itself to bits - don’t want to damage anything! Traffic was very understanding though and gave me a wide berth, slowed down, and gave me a wave or toot. They appear incredulous sometimes at seeing a cyclist in these remote places, and some of them tell me they’ve seen me several times on the road over the past few weeks.
I landed at the Eco Retreat just after noon, and went to look at the empty camping places to hopefully find a less gravelly one than that at Dale ast night. I found one, it was avaiable, so I paid my $25 (arghhhhh!!) and set up.
It was pretty cool in the afternoon, and sitting with a cuppa in the open kitchen / barbie area I could have done with a coat all right.
I rode out to Weano Gorge after lunch - a hard ride on a rough and rolling gravel road. There are some very steep but short hills and continuous undulations. The 10km took me 80 minutes, but it was worth it - at the Oxer Lookout there’s a 100m drop down to where 4 gorges meet, an absoutely awesome view, and there are some steep steps down to Weano Gorge itself, where you can walk through the deep gorge which is only a few metres wide, with vertical red walls towering above for 100 metres. The rocks have a crumbled appearance as if about to collapse - 2.5 billion years old - an amazing sight. Shame it was cloudy - the colours would have been even more amazing in sunshine.
I was much quicker coming back and got on with the blog since I planned to occupy my evening dining out, or so I had thought. After 30 minutes typing I had become very cold, and had to put on practically all the clothing I have (which isn’t much). I cycled up to the restaurant and confirmed that it was completely open ‘al fresco’, which would normally be attractive, but even as the first couple were being seated for dinner I heard them asking for the warmest table, and I figured what was the point in eating there in this cold weather? I would be cold, the food would become cold quickly, and it wouldn’t be the pleasant experience I’d anticipated. I’d been planning to push the boat out too and have whatever I fancied for once, cost aside. Never mind, I’ll get the chance again soon probably; maybe in Tom Price if I don’t stay here again tomorrow - haven’t made my mind up yet. I’ll see what the weather’s like tomorrow and if cloudy again I may just head on to TP since the other gorges I’ve not seen yet may be less spectacular.
Anyway it was just tuna sandwiches tonight, but at least I was warm inside the sleeping bag!

DAY 280: Bush camp to Dales Gorge

2008-08-04T03:45:00.003+01:00

41km @ 14.9 km/hr
Weds 30th July 2008
Sunny intervals / cloudy!, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 670m
Distance to date 17203 km (10752 miles)

Another good campsite and peaceful night, so quiet in fact that this morning I thought I heard an animal scraping around near the tent which proved to be my tummy rumbing! Picking my way carefully through the sparsely-spaced spinifex I was back on the road at 0900 and rather than the expected SE-er, which ALWAYS blows in the morning, it was a dastardly NE-er! What hard work - plugging along slowly up a draggy incline again - thankfully it was ony 15km to the turn into the Karajini NP. Then another 10km mostly with the wind up to the NP visitor centre and what I believed was a caravan park. I must have misunderstood the map because there was no CP. I had expected to get a shower and get batteries charged - all my batteries are flat, even those in the camera. The shower could wait, or I can still get a good wash down, but the batteries? Ah - a sign at the VC desk said batteries charges for $4. Hmmm - and when I said I had 8 AA’s to charge the first reponse was that it woud cost me $32!!! You’re kidding said I? We evetually haggled it down to $4 for 4; still expensive. There is apparently no power anywhere in this NP. I wasn’t too impressed with the visitor centre either - they charge that for charging a few measly batteries but because no-one thought to put too many windows ino the exhibition area there are lots of lights on which will cost a hundred times more than my batteries - and still it was hard to read the displays. The video theatre was out of action too, and the shop sold very little worth buying. There’s an opportunity here to have a cafe - there isn’t another for 40km for example - someone needs to have a look at this place as a going enterprise. In contrast the VC at Katherine Gorge was excellent.
I collected some water from the tank, which was covered in bees all trying to get a drink in desperation and a few of which alighted on my person, and rode the 10km out to Dale Campground ($6.50 pppn) which is operated by the NP authority CALM. The caretaker couple were very helpful, but the site I was given was pretty dire - bare broken stone unsuitable for tents. I spent half an hour clearing an area of stones before setting up. Not a good day so far.
In the afternoon I rode down to look at the gorge and it is indeed very beautiful, but the water coming into it, in which people were swimming, looked pretty polluted with lots of green algae coating the rocks and bed. I think it’s fed from cattle country which might explain this. I got chatting to a couple from Sydney, David and Diane, and was telling them about the difficulty in getting batteries charged, and they kindly offered to charge some more up when they fire up their portable generator tonight!
I duly went around at the appointed hour of 5, and was invited into their caravan to have a beer and watch the news on TV while waiting. And I was also given a steak for the barbie for dinner tonight - great! That was very nice of them, and an hour later I was firing up the gas barbie and gas rings and making dinner and sipping some pink stuff. The cooking facilities are good, but there are no showers here, or even water, just composting toilets. I shall move on tomorrow west to see the other gorges.
During my ride here this morning there were some black clouds overhead, and it did indeed rain in Tom Price just 100km away. First cloud I’ve seen for months. It was quite overcast during the day here too. I’m surprised that this altitude isn’t colder than it has been the ast few nights - it’s warmer at night here than at the coast.
I had a nice sociable hour at the cooking area as people came, cooked, and left again, and learnt a bit more about what lies ahead.

DAY 279: Bush camp to bush camp 15km W on Karajini Drive

2008-08-04T03:44:00.001+01:00

Position S 22 36.722; E 118 35.105
84km @ 13.5 km/hr
Tues 29th July 2008
Sunny, 31 deg C
Elevation of /destination 743m
Distance to date 17162 km (10726 miles)

As I opened my eyes I saw that there was quite a bit of streaky cloud on the horizon with the sun just about to peep over, so I walked up the small hill at the side of me with the camera. It was as spectacuar a show as sunset yesterday, and I sat and watched for a while as the surrounding mountains slowly lit up to their usual deep orangey-red. After a wash in the pool I picked my way across the km of barren spinifex plain back to the road and set off at 0830 with an easterly sidewind. What a great campsite that was, and what a relaxing day I had yesterday!
The 31m to Auski Roadhouse was pretty heavy going - a steady drag undulating gradually upwards with just a few distant mountains to look at. It seemed longer than the 2 hours it actually took me, and I was glad to roll in for long wished-for breakfast of bacon egg and beans. It was a fair old plateful too, just the job. I got the usual free ‘driver reviver’ coffee (or tea) funded by the government to persuade sleepy drivers to get some caffeine and wake up, and the 3 mugs certainly gave me a kick too. The truck driver at the next table was telling me all about his job e.g. They are only allowed to drive for 5 hours then have to have a half-hour break, plus they must have at least 7 hours continuous rest / sleep every 24 hours. They don’t have tacographs here, but have to keep a log of times that can be inspected at any time and must be complete. He was driving from Darwin to Perth - over 2000km - which will tae him 3 to 4 days. They have UHF ‘CB’ radios truck to truck, but if driving in remote areas (! it’s all remote up here!) they can be given powerful HF radios that cover Australia (I think that’s what he meant).
I took advantage of the rare internet terminal here ($5 for 15 minutes!!) and replied to a few e-mails before leaving, and also took on more water for possible bush camping again if I don’t reach the caravan park at Karijini.
The next section to the Karjini junction continued steadily uphill, and the scenery got much more interesting, and much steeper - to 6% for 2km - as the road passed through Munjina East Gorge. The diverse and very red rock faces and steep cliffs were amazing - a myriad of constantly-changing shapes and vistas; hopefully the pics will explain better than I can. Even after this steep section, when I was reduced to 7 km/hr, there was little you could call a descent; the road struck ever upwards.
After the gorge the wind did it’s regular shift from east to north, so as I was heading south I was flung along - for about 5km - but on turning right for Karajini NP / Tom Price it was all over, and I was straight into a NE-er, right in the face, and to add insult to injury the road continued to climb slowly as before. Pretty soon I was at 800m and had had enough for the day. It was 1530 and I started to look for a campsite. It wasn’t easy at all; either the vegetation was too thin or, more usually, the spinifex totally filled in all the ground between the trees and shrubs, and it's inpeneterable. This is horrible stuff - spiky grass that you can’t even go near without getting thorns in clothing, which then irritate the hell out of you by sticking into the skin at regular intervals. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sat picking these out of my socks, and even shorts!! It’s evil stuff, but ubiquitous around here.
During one aborted attempt to get across to a likely campsite I accidentally stood on a broken plant stem which stuck straight through my sandal and into my heel - it was very painful, and I had to remove the shoe whereupon the broken bit of stem fully 5mm diameter came out with it covered in blood - ouch! I eventually found a good site off to the left that had a network of bare fractured rock ‘paths’ in and around the spinifex, and I managed to get way off the road behind some thicker shrubs and trees - perfect. Left is best today because the NW wind will take the smoke from my fire away from the road and add to my anonimity. There’s lots of good firewood here too, necessary not just because it’s nice to have a fire, but also because the repair to my stove pump was unsuccesful and I’ll need a fire to cook dinner on. I did actually buy a sliced loaf at the roadhouse, but prefer cooked food.
After putting up tent I got the fire going straight away, and within 30 minutes it was dying down having left a good red bed on which to place the pans. I did mash in one and veg and tune in the other, and as usual it tasted delicious. Samey, but delicious.

DAY 278: Day off at bush camp 31km N of Auski Roadhouse

2008-08-04T03:43:00.005+01:00

Position S 22 07.207; E 118 47.207
Mon 28th July 2008
Sunny, 32 deg C
Elevation of /destination 466m
Distance to date 17078 km (10674 miles)

I slept like a log last night - whatever traffic there was, the sound was well muted by the ring of mountains around me, apart from a narrow gap where I came in. It didn’t take long for me to decide to make this a rest day - well, I have easily enough water; in any case I could filter some from the spring if desperate, and plenty of food too. I didn’t get out of the tent until the sun was well over the horizon then went and tossed some more kindling on the ashes, and with a couple of puffs it leapt into life again. In no time at all I had made tea and was toasting a muffin on the end of a sharp stick. The fireside was very cosy in the cool (10 deg C) early morning, and I sat around watching the Spinifex Pigeons and savouring the beautiful setting, until the sun was full on and had crept over some trees, at around 0840 where I was sat. After washing the pots in the spring water I went on patrol in the hils surrounding camp and did a big circle of around 4km. The early light really brings out the colours of this amazing landscape and the camera was snapping away all over the place. The ground is littered with fractured rock - weathered by millions of years of heat and cold repeated every day. The stones are quite sharp and one has to walk carefully some of the time. I was surprised how many wild flowers there are up here, each desperately clinging onto life in the harsh environment. Spinifex dominates all though, and there’s little for cattle to graze on here. I did see 2 last night though, who bolted on seeing me. The roads have been unfenced for days and the cattle just wander wherever they want to get food. There have been many roadkilled animals along the way that stink to high heaven.
From the tops of the hills I could see the Fortescue River valley far to the south and west, which is where I’ll be heading next, with more rocky red mountains in the further distance. These mountains are part of the Chichester Range, which Karijini NP is within. Back at camp a small group of vividly-coloured Red-backed Fairy Wrens were flitting around in the big gums nearby. Later on I shall sit quietly near the spring-fed water hole and see what comes and goes - as far as I can see there’s no water anywhere else around here. I’ve already seen plenty of bees drinking here, and also some large black and red wasps.
On returning from my walk I found a shady spot under a big old snow-white barked Ghost Gum and sorted images from the camera ready for uploading - this saves costly internet time, and the Dell Axim PDA does it easily - including rotating and cropping the images if need be. I deliberately chose SD card format for the camera so I can use these in the Axim, and it has made life very easy.
After this I gave the repaired fuel pump a go - and despite a bit of stiffness it worked OK, so I boiled up some water and had the rest of the packet of garlic mashed potato with a mug of tea. This is a lovely shady spot in the mornings and mid-day so I stayed here and started typing up my diary for today. One hour on at 1445 the sun has crept around and I will find another similarly cosy spot around the corner.
I also rechecked my 3 spare tubes to make sure they were OK, and they appear sound enough.

DAY 277: Bush camp to bush camp 25km N of Auski Roadhouse

2008-08-04T03:43:00.003+01:00

Sun 27th July 2008
79km @ 13.9 km/hr
Sunny, 34 deg C
Elevation of /destination 466m
Distance to date 17078 km (10674 miles)

It was so very quiet last night; however I woke around 3 and could hear a kind of droning sound far away - I later worked out that it was probably a community generator about 10km away! Sounded quite eerie across the night-silent bush.
On getting up I rekindled the fire easily and boiled enough water for a cuppa, then got going at 0820. Fires are so easy with the wood and kindling being so dry, but one has to be careful not to start a bush fire - I always choose a wide clearing because of this. For kindling I gather a handful of either dry eucalyptus leaves (these burn with a lovely smell of, well, eucalyptus!) or some dried spinifex - both leap into flame as soon as you apply a light, being tinder-dry.
There was little wind today, and what there was, was on the side or just a little in front, also there was more draggy cimbing too, so it felt like very hard work. The road gently undulates, only in these hard conditions it felt more like hilly. The landscape is very open indeed, with no vegetation at all in places, and this looked more like a desert than anywhere I’ve seen here so far. There are quite a few creeks to cross, but they don’t make for good camping spots as it is so difficult to get down from the elevated road - so that the road doesn’t flood as easily in the Wet. The distant, and dramatic red / orange (umber?) mountains gradually loomed closer, until after 60km there was a 9km climb of between 4 and 6% - the biggest climb since the Atherton Tablelands. This tops out at around 500m, and halfway up it is the Bea Bea Rest Area. I popped in here because I needed to cadge some water from a willing caravanner. It’s not much of a rest area - no toilets and little shade. I chatted with a couple sat in the only shade in the place, and although they were short of water they gave me a cold Coke, which tasted beautiful. Another couple nearby did have 4 litres spare, which they happily gave me, plus the guy had a go at sticking the rubber plunger from my stove pump back in place, and I’ll have to wait 24 hours to let it set - he used shoe glue, which apparently stays flexible. Let’s hope it works. I owe one to all these kind folks.
Off again, feeling pretty tired, and another 5km of climbing to the top of the hill, then looking for an early bush camp to rest my weary bones. I’m starting to feel the fact I haven’t had a rest day since Broome, and then only one. I hope to correct this soon though. There just hasn’t been anywhere suitable for me lately. I’m so picky and getting worse!
From the top of the hill there is absolutely no vegetation at all for several km, a real lunar, or rather Martian given the colour, landscape. A bit further on I spotted a line of larger trees set back against the hills, and took my opportunity, and it seems like a good site. Hidden from the road, plenty of firewood so I can cook a meal that way, and even a little crystal-clear spring-fed pool to wash myself, and togs in.
I managed to cook in the hot embers OK, managing (just) to avoid burning myself, and had a nice tuna, veg and garlic mash potato (Smash!) plus glass of pink. The traffic reduced considerably later on and restored calm - this is a little gem of a site; fees like my own little domain!
Tomorrow I have about 25km to the Auski roadhouse, then only another 12km heading south before turning right for Karijini NP and Tom Price.

DAY 276: Bush camp to bush camp 109km N of Auski Roadhouse

2008-08-04T03:41:00.001+01:00

Sat 26th July 2008
98km @ 14.6 km/hr
Sunny, 27 deg C
Elevation of /destination 217m
Distance to date 16999 km (10624 miles)

Slept Ok despite a lot of noise from traffic overnight; must seek out somewhere away from the road if possible in future. The site here is nice though; course red sand that is very clean and unlike the fine stuff doesn’t stick everywhere.
Away by 0840 with SE/E wind on my left side; no advantage, and later it was in front slighty. It was draggy going, 14 km/hr with tree cover and (mostly) 12 without. I felt more comfortable with the seat cover though; despite the dragginess I wasn’t dwelling on the sores because they weren’t hurting nearly as much as before. The pressure points have been relieved and have moved somewhere else.
The traffic was quite heavy with 50% road trains, and I had to get onto the gravel shoulder a few times when 2 abreast, and initially the scenery was very samey; but there were increasing numbers of wid fowers of all hues, some with nice odours too.
I stopped after 37km for lunch, and spent a good hour, hoping for that switch in wind from E to N, but it didn’t come, so off I went again at the same slow speed. After 60km the scenery improved dramatically as dark and vivid red rocky outcrops and weathered bouders littered the landscape, and the road climbed gently but continuously for the next 25km. It was very pleasant riding, unhampered by sadde sore discomfort. During this long ‘climb’ a small lorry stopped and the driver asked did I want a lift! When I said no he was a bit put out; he couldn’t understand why I wanted to ride! He’ll probably never know. I did thank him and I appreciated his motives.
I topped the climb around 300m ASL and it was fairly flat on top, as I looked for a campsite. I found one with little difficulty down a long drainage channel, and just had to clear a few rocks to get a level base.
I was getting ready to cook but disaster struck when the stove would not pressurise the fuel; the pump was doing nothing, and when I stripped it down I saw that the rubber sea had fallen off, but whenever I put it back on again it just came off again, so it looks fairly terminal without spare parts, which aren’t available anywhere near here! That’s a blow....
I therefore abandoned my desire for anonimity and lit a fire it was very cold anyway, but I could at least boil some water for a cuppa. I made sandwiches for dinner though, and had a mug of the White Shiraz, which is actually Rose of course; - I'd forgotten that and had thought it was white! Very nice too. I may have to seek out campsites where I can make a fire for a while if I want to do any more cooking. Maybe I’ll be abe to buy a new stove in Tom Price, the next small town.

DAY 275: Port Hedland to bush camp 12km N of Indee rest area

2008-08-04T03:40:00.004+01:00

Fri 25th July 2008
72km @ 20.1 km/hr
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 40m
Distance to date 16901 km (10563 miles)

Pretty cold again this morning, and a modest dew for the first time in a while, so I lingered awhile before getting up. I went and joined the other cyclist, whose name is Guido, a Flemish gentleman of 70 years. He’s cycling from Cairns to Perth, so I may see him again - although from what he told me he’s going a little slower than I. He explained the history of the Flemish region (most of Belgium from what I gather) and language. He left soon after 8 but I had quite a bit to do - mend a punctured tube; wait for washing to dry, somehow pack all the food I bought into already cramped panniers (I must be carrying close to 20kg of food to start with this time) - anyway it was 11 when I finally departed.
I had a quick look at the mangrove-covered beach (pic) then lingered awhile on the very busy road-train strewn highway bridge near the salt factory (pics), then decided to have a look at the satellite town of South Hedland.
SH is a more down-to-earth version of Port Hedland; smaller houses, more blackfellas, and the first sights that greeted me when I rolled into the town centre was a Macdonald’s and a K-Mart. Firstly I needed stamps so joined the long queue at the PO (just like UK in that respect), and outside a guy came talking about my trip, and told me to be ‘careful’ with the bike here; he meant stuff can go ‘walkabout’ if one’s careless. Further, he offered to look after the bike for me while I shopped, and told me to come around to Coles’ Liquorland if necessary, where he was manager. Well, I was greatful for that, did as he said, and wheeled the bike into the stock room at the rear of the shop and so I went off shopping without having to worry - what a nice guy!
K-Mart first - one of my favourite stores lol - and straight to the cycling section to see if they had a pair of padded shorts. Alas, they did not, but they did have a gel seat cover for $25, and I decided to give it a go. I then went and had lunch at Macdonald’s (I feel like a turncoat after all I’ve said about them in the past). I have to admit again it was very good - an ‘Australian’ burger with lettuce, bacon, cheese, pineapple and a good dash of Worcester sauce - it sounds an odd combo but it hit the spot for me. I need fatty molecules.
I collected the bike, thanked the manager, and took the new seat cover for a trial run. I left the label on in case it was no good and I had to take it back, but actually it felt really good, and fits my Rolls saddle perfectly and securely. There’s a wide circle of gel that prevents the (sore) pressure points around the seat bones, and I was hardly aware of the sores any longer. They’ve been pretty bad for a while too, with 2 areas where the skin is broken that gave sharp stabs of pain repeatedly. It remained OK for the rest of the day too, so maybe this was a good buy!
Very contented and well fed I quit South Hedland and hit the Great Northern Highway once more. I had hoped the traffic would reduce significantly, but there was still plenty, including a lot of road trains. No shouder of course, and I had to jump into the gravel a few times. There is very little shade or tree cover - the vegetation is very thin Mulga (Acacia) scrub.
I turned south at 47km, continuing on the GNH rather than taking the West Coastal Highway, and continued for another 13km or so through virtually bare bush until I came upon a more thickly-wooded stretch, and as it was well after 4 decided to dive in for a camping site. I found a reasonably-hidden spot on lovely coarse, clean, flat red sand, and set up.
Hot cuppa in hand I sat back, sighed, and watched yet another beautiful sunset in front of me. This has become almost a must for me - my favourite time of the day. I’ll never see a sunset again anywhere without remembering these moments in Australia; perfect peace, stillness, solitude and natural beauty.
After all the scoffing of today I decided to just have a cheese and sun-dried tomato sandwich for dinner, using the good crusty bread I bought last evening, which is still very fresh, washed down with the last of the red. I’ve now inserted into the ‘water bag’ the new 2l bladder of White Shiraz I bought yesterday too; I’ve come to savour my mug of wine before dinner, watching the post-dusk colours deepen in the west. Although the sun has disappeared by 1745 lately, it’s almost 1900 before it’s completely dark, so the sunset show is great value! It also means I can get dinner prepared and eaten without hardly having to use the headtorch.
After the 'trauma' of having to pay $39 to camp last night (lol) this has been a good day, and I’m feeling very positive again. (....wait until the SE wind hits you in the morning sucker!)

NB/ my eyboard in paying up and won’t produce certain letters like j,k and l (only it just did that time!).

DAY 274: De Grey RA to Port Hedland

2008-08-04T03:40:00.003+01:00

Thurs 24th July 2008
85km @ 19.9 km/hr
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 5m
Distance to date 16829 km (10518 miles)

To say there were several hundred people staying here it was very quiet last night; mind you there’s plenty of space for separation. The birds were very entertaining as dawn broke, breafasting and socialising at the same time. I was up and about early and away by 0730, hopefully to give me plenty of time to get stuff done in PH this afternoon.
I didn’t now where the wind would be so this could have been a hard ride, but I needn’t have worried; the SE wind was on cue again for as long as it lasted. The road was dead flat as usual and as the morning wore on the wind strengthened up to fresh again, and I was merrily cruising at 28 for long periods. A few mountains started to appear on the horizon; not very big ones it has to be said but looking big enough in the otherwise clear landscape. It was quite pleasant riding. I saw my first Sturt’s Desert Pea sprouting on the gravel shoulder - a small, vividly-red flower iconic in WA.
An old couple stopped ahead of me and looked as if they wanted to speak so I pulled over and we chatted for a while. I forgot to get their names, but they’re from Port Macquarie in NSW, touring with their 4x4, and were keen tandemists in their younger days. The man rode the Nullabor in the days before it was bitumenised, which sounded pretty tough all right - much harder than my crossing.
30km or so from PH the scenery becomes more industrial, testament to the high concentration of mining - especially for iron ore - in this area, which is coming into the Pilbara region. There are more road trains and traffic in general, and I had to keep a wary eye open since there is little in the way of bitumen shoulder - the gravel isn’t too bad in most places though. There are virtually no trees - all today’s section in open and bare - although this has it’s own sort of interest to the viewer with distant mountains and wide vistas.
Nearing PH there are a few rail crossings and an increasing number of industrial sites, fuel storage places and the like. With 15km to go the wind started to turn into the west again - lucky I started early - and it was tougher going with no windbreaking vegetation. I stopped at the first large roadhouse with 12km to go, and seeing there was a caravan park there asked how much - $11 pppn - so this was an option. The road up to PH ends there and I have to ride back 10km to carry on SW - should I leave the tent and gear here and ride into PH to do my internet and shopping? Since there was a CP in PH too I decided to carry on and go there. It was a battle against the wind. The salt works on my right are clearly seen as you ride over the big new bridge (which thankfully has a cycle lane to get you away from all the lorries). I chatted with a Dutch couple waiting to see one of the very long iron ore trains (up to 2km long!), which was due apparently, before carrying on another 5km to the CP. On enquiring I was told it would be $39 for a tent site - wow! I was pretty tired, and had much to do, and it was still early and I’d have time to get it all done if I stayed here, but $39? I went to have a look at the sites - all without shade - but met another touring cyclist who’e staying here and decided to stay myself. I must be getting soft paying all that! It is quite a nice site though - one of the BIG 4 sites.
I chatted with my new friend for a while then headed off to Port Hedland. The Visitor Info Centre 8km away didn’t allow uploading, but the Seamen’s Centre did ($6/hr) and I got everything done; even booking onto the London to Inverness sleeper in September as I return. I also got plenty of shopping done (hope I can fit it all in) and even got a haircut since they were open until 8 on a Thursday. I decided to just get a no.2 clipper job (skinhead) and that’ll probably last me until I get to Perth.
I’d bought a barbie pack and had a delicious dinner of steak, chops and sausage, with zuchini and mushrooms, washed down with plenty of red stuff. A couple I’d met (from Victoria) on the El Questro day trip out of Kununurra turned up at the camp kitchen, and brought me some pudding, which was eagerly accepted, and we had a good chat. They knew the N of Scotland as they had been up there a few years ago.
No time for the blog as it was now 2200, and I was really tired after a hectic day. All was quiet here, and straight to sleep.

DAY 273: Cape Keraudren to De Grey Rest Area

2008-07-24T08:13:00.002+01:00

Weds 23rd July 2008
83km @ 16.1 km/hr
Sunny, 29 deg C
Elevation of /destination 22m
Distance to date 16744 km (10465 miles)

I was awake just before dawn as some early risers passed my tent on their way to the beach, so I roused myself and went out just as the sun was leaving the sea - spectacular dawn. I spent an hour or so wandering about looking at some amazing shells and pieces of coral as things started to warm up a little - the sand was very cold indeed and my feet were getting to feel like ice blocks. Billy on and hot coffee called for, which helped a lot, as I chatted to the early riser on his return. Things started to go a bit pear-shaped after this, as the wind picked up and the fine sand was starting to leak into the tent all over my stuff. Oops! Rapid packing away of everything in sight as the tent threatened to take off never to be seen again as the strong wind funnelled down the valley from the sea. In record time everything was secured and packed away and on the bike. What now?
I decided to head off - I’d had a good look around the Cape this morning, and it wouldn’t be much fun in this strong wind, either swimming, or just sitting around sifting sand out of everything!
A lovely place, but so was the Pardoo Roadhouse which whispered *big breakfast* to me. This really is a good roadhouse, great bacon and eggs, everywhere very clean, friendly staff - very well run indeed. I eventually got back on the road at 1100 and got no further than 4km when I punctured again - rear of course, so everything off, bike upended, and tube replaced. I was happy to find a small sliver of metal or splinter in the tyre and duly removed same. I hate it when you can’t find anything; left with the fear that it might happen again.
For the first 50km from the roadhouse the road bends south more, so the SE wind is more of a nuisance, but after this it bends west again and the SE-er was a tailwind once more, however it was declining in strength. The road was pretty lumpy in parts today, which was uncomfortable for me, but traffic lighter now the school hols are over. After 50km too though the scenery becomes less attractive - lots of cattle having trampled everything in sight, and also mining activity. It’s all pretty flat though apart from the odd draggy uphill.
After stopping for a cuppa with little shade; lycra top draped over my head, I ambled on, but with 15km to go, at 1530, the wind quickly turned from SE to W in the space of a few minutes, so what was a tailwind was now bang on the right side, and speed fell from 18 to 14 immediately. I had planned to ride to a reported bush campsite 19km beyond De Grey RA so as to make tomorrow’s ride to Port Hedland an easy one, but the slower progress tired me and I decided to check the RA out. It was very nice - about 1km of camping sites alongside the wide and actually WET De Grey River - the first sign of water for at least 500km. Many of these were already taken but with just a tent and no vehicle I could take my pick of a number of sites close to the river, and soon found a decent place. Whilst I was looking a nice couple chatted briefly with me having passed me 3 times this week - and thrust 3 oranges at me - nice!
There were sevaral hundred Corellas on the river bank, and lots of Honeyeaters in the trees. Where I camped was surrounded by old shady paperbark trees. The 100m wide river actually looks very polluted though - it’s clear the cattle get access straight down the banks to get water, so probably wander around in the river doing what cows do...I was going to wash some clothes, but decided to leave it until tomorrow when I’ll have to check into a caravan park in Port Hedland.
I cooked supper and ate it watching the gorgeous red sunset over the river, silhouetting the road trains passing over the road bridge.

DAY 272: Bush camp to Cape Keraudren

2008-07-24T08:12:00.007+01:00

Tues 22nd July 2008
151km @ 20.6 km/hr
Sunny, 28 deg C
Elevation of /destination 1m!
Distance to date 16661 km (10413 miles)

Excellent camp again; only slight drawback was the drone of the roadhouse generator 1 km away - must have been bad at the CP! I overslept slightly after having resolved to get away earlier, and then had to go back up to the roadhouse to get more petrol for the stove, which cost me the princely sum of 62 cents. The original Sandfire Roadhouse burnt down some time ago, and all that’s there at the moment is a portacabin (demountable building in Ozspeak) with very little to offer - not even an iced coffee! So it was a cheap visit, and then on the road at 0850.
A nice SE-er was blowing freshly again and as the road bore further west at Sandfire it’s right behind me - wheeee! Hurtling along at 28 I laughed at the miserable 14 of the past few days (.....gather ye rosebuds whilst ye may.....). It was great, and the road was in very good condition too. I’ve noticed a way of deciding whether one’s going uphill or not (because it’s impossible to tell by looking usually) - there is a wider strip of bitumen known as the floodway which I presume is to strengthen the road during the Wet, and this is obviously level-ish. Thus the road before and after this section is downhill and uphill respectively; I doubt if the slope is greater than 1% though. Anyway I was sailing up these ‘little’ hills at 18 instead of 9 or 10 in recent days, which felt good. There are a growing number of flowers to be seen at the side of the road, yellow bushes (Acacia, Wattle) as previously mentioned (pic), plus some purple flowers a little like lupins but clearly not lupins. The landcape for most of today’s section was very open with low trees, and shrubs, spaced sparsely.
I stopped at 1145 for lunch, after 60km, having spotted a shady tree where the bike could be leaned easily, and got the billy on for 2 mugs of tea, some nuts, a muesli bar and a handful of chocolate cookies. The latter I bought 2 500g packs of in Broome for only $2.29 each (£1.05) - bargain - and they are very nice too. Trouble is I can’t stop eating them once started - I’ve even woke in the middle of the night to have a munch at them.
I’d stopped after 46km to have a look at the 80 Mile Beach Caravan Park road, but as expected it was very dusty and deep with sand, so I declined the opportunity to travel the 20km round trip to this place.
I saw quite a few ‘roos today, in fact heard them first crashing through the undergrowth as they spotted me, and when I turned to look could usually see them bounding away in terror. Was it something I said? Also saw a couple of Wedge-tailed Eagles, which lifted off from some roadkill as I neared. Plenty of roadkill too, including some cattle, which must have strayed outwith the boundary fence where there is one.
The afternoon saw be bowling along, and I eventually arrived at Pardoo Roadhouse (138km) at 1630. This is a very friendly place, and they make their own sausage rolls so I had to try one with my 2 x 600 ml cartons of iced coffee which hardly touched the side. I got water too - slightly ‘tasty’ bore water free but with donation for Flying Doctor Service requested, and asked about the track out to Cape Keraudren Coastal Reserve. I was told it was good gravel, in which case a side trip might be on. The track starts 250m S from the roadhouse, and when I checked it out it did indeed look much better than the 2 tracks I’ve declined over the past few days.
Off I went then with the sun very low in the sky (dusk is at 1735 at the moment here), which made it very difficult to see where I was going due to the glare on the side, and it was hard to see and avoid some corrugations in the road. I coped with it though and arrived atg the wardens place after 9km, where one has to pay a fee for entering and camping in the reserve, however he kindly waived the fee because “of the effort you made to get here”! The beach camping area is another 4km and the sun had completely gone by the time I had negotiated a very sandy section of road and arrived at the coast. The area several km in from the coast is completely devoid of vegetation so it’s a kind of lunar landscape - different, but nice. There were about 10 other vehicle-hauled campers in the camping area, and after chatting to a few I continued on about 300m past them until the bike got bogged down in the sand, and there levelled a site on the sloping beach a few metres above the high tide mark and pitched the tent. It was low tide when I arrived, and the sea will rise in the night to no nearer than 40m from me (I hope!). It’s very nice indeed here and worth the effort / side trip. I look forward to exploring the beaches and sea swimming / sunbathing tomorrow - I’ll stay here tomorrow night too. Only thing I have to watch is carrying sand into the tent and all my gear - thorough brushing-off before entry...
I didn’t bother cooking tonight, but had the 2nd sausage roll from the roadhouse - they are very filling - washed down with mug of red. I had bought a 3l box of wine in Broome; cheap $15 stuff, and discarded the box, fitting the bladder of wine into a disused 4l water bag cover. That way no-one would know it had wine in it; this is a very stealable commodity in *some quarters*. I bought red because it’s usually more drinkable at warm temperatures, however it’s going so cold so early on at night these days that it’s actually a bit too cold, and white wine would have been preferable. I’ve put a brave face on though and drank it regardless.....hic.

DAY 271: Bush camp to bush camp 1km SW of Sandfire RH

2008-07-24T08:12:00.006+01:00

Mon 21st July 2008
115 km @ 14.6 km/hr
Sunny, 25 deg C
Elevation of /destination 14m
Distance to date 16510 km (10319 miles)

My watch alarm woke me at 0620 but for once I didn’t go back to sleep, determined to get off earlier. It was pretty cold mind, and I did what I could without getting out of my sleeping bag. I’d left the food pannier by the ‘door’ so could just reach inside and get the milk and muesli, which I had with a banana. The macadamia and dried mango muesli I bought in Broome from the health food shop, and although it’s very nice it has no sugar, and doesn’t quite hit the spot. S’pose it’s more healthy for that though (:-<). I also packed all the stuff away that I could reach and then reluctantly braved the cold. It was still very windy from the SE, and although the wind often drops at night it hardly reduced at all last night. The fresh to strong SE-er kept up all day too, and was in front of me for the first 40km or so - which I knew would be the case having studied the map. Knowing it’s going to be tough helps me accept the hardships better I’ve found, and I was quite focussed, and got through this bad stage OK. After 40 it improved slightly, but not that much really, and the wind was still right on my left side and blowing me around with frequent gusts. Saddle sores were pretty awful today; they’re getting worse again. I should have kept one of the old pair of cycling shorts that I chucked, to wear as a second pair. I tried but failed to get a pair that fit in Broome. The road was in good condition with a shoulder for some 50% of the way, and the vegetation was half dense and half thin - in fact non-existent for long stretches, which slowed me down a lot as I was buffeted around with no attenuating cover. I had a nice treat after 80km when a 4x4 stopped to ask if I wanted a cold drink - YES PLEASE said I - and I had the choice of beer, coke or water. I was sorely tempted by the beer, but I don’t ride well with alcohol inside me, so was more than happy with the coke. The donors were Ash and Debbie from Perth, and we had a nice chat for a while about places to visit on the way down, and other stuff. Nice guys, and the gesture was very much appreciated. During the last quarter of the way today I saw lots of ‘roos (I don’t know if they were really ‘roos or Wallabies, or Wallaroos - they’re like trees; unameable they are so similar to each other - as well as a couple of large flocks of Corellas, and a few Red-winged parrots. Not to mention the ubiquitous Kites, hovering over me checking my survival rating and eating potential. With 20km to go things got easier as the vegetation entirely disappeared (see pic) and the road turned further to the west and out of the wind, and my motivation took me right to Sandfire Roadhouse, which I had not expected to reach today. The roadhouse is the first building seen since Roebuck roadhouse 4 days and 289 km ago - there is nothing at all between these places. I have been a bit surprised that this stretch wasn’t a bit more ‘desert’ like though - in fact it’s just more Savannah thin woodlands to various degrees of density. It has been very easy to find a bush camping site though. On arrival at Sandfire RH the sun was just about to disappear, but I pushed it to the limit to get set up, and went for a shower at the RH instead - after 3 nights in the bush I was pretty grubby and it felt really good to get clean again. By the time I was showered though it was getting dark, so I even skipped my iced coffee and rode straight off 1km down the road where I found another decent bush campsite. No point in staying at the dusty caravan park at the roadhouse and paying for the privelege! I was fully set up in time though, then flopped down in my Thermarest chair with mug of red wine, watching yet another fantastic orange sunset. There’s something so Australian about the sky after sunset - truly beautiful. I set to afterwards and used the rather stale last 2 muffins by frying same in canola oil, then lavishing them with curry-flavoured tuna - quite tasty actually. But it will be wonderful to live in a house with a fridge again, fully stocked with lots of fresh food!! In the morning I’ll pop back up to the roadhouse for an early iced coffee and some more petrol for the stove, before heading for 80 Mile Beach, and hopefully a couple of days of sunbathing and sea swimming if the road is rideable.

DAY 270: Bush camp to bush camp adj to Shelamar t/o

2008-07-24T08:12:00.005+01:00

Sun 20th July 2008
96 km @ 14.8 km/hr
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of /destination 17m
Distance to date 16395 km (10247 miles)

The wind whipped strongly around the tent towards the end of the night and by dawn it was fresh to strong and a SE-er, which would be right on my left side today if it held, which will make for a slowish day again. Nevertheless I slept very well and was quite warm enough. It’s certainly warmer at nights the nearer to the sea you are.
Setting off at 0830 the wind was indeed bang on the side, and a slight disadvantage to progress. It was pretty gusty and not so comfortable to ride in. I was in good form though and just kept plodding along, waving at motorists and looking forward to seeing what the track to Barn Hill Station Stay CP would be like - my book says ‘deep sand - unrideable’. On arrival there after 14km it did indeed look pretty grim, and I rode a few hundred metres which confirmed this - very sandy and too hard to ride on. A kind couple offered to load the bike and gear onto their pickup and they would take me in that way, but I still had to get back, and anyway I’m a bit proud to accept help like that - I guess I want to be as self-reliant as possible. Anyway, I could look forward to a nice break at the rest area at 40km.
And a nice break it was too - as soon as I arrived I was offered cakes by a group of 3 people about to drive across the Great Sandy Desert, and very nice they were too (the people and the cakes!). No sooner had they left but a couple from Perth started chatting, and I was offered a sandwich - and another - and another! Nice fresh bread with Brie, sun-dried tomatoes and salad - delicious! My lucky day, but I hadn’t finished yet because another couple arrived and gave me some fruit! Wow -it never rains but it pours! Anyway there was lots of good natter which I enjoyed, and I finally left feeling quite pleased with myself and newly motivated.
But it was very ploddy all afternoon - never getting above 18 km/hr and usually bumbling along at 13 - however the km went in and I was quite pleased to achieve 96 on a difficult day with over 6 hours in the saddle.
About 6km before I stopped I saw a bike track going into the bush with none coming out, and surmised there might be another tourer in there. Maybe we’ll meet up soon if that’s the case.
I had a lovely hour after dinner tonight just savouring the Outback dusk - the horizon a long band of orange, gradually fading; almost utter silence except for the odd vehicle (there’s hardly any at night); the stars coming into view, and the orange full moon appearing behind me - it’s utterly beautiful, and these bush camps have been a real highlight of my many experiences here.
With my third night bush camping I’m feeling a little grubby so did my best to have a wash. I’ve plenty of water now since I took on another 7 litres from one of the people at the rest area this morning. It’s gone very cold tonight though so I’ve got into the sleeping bag to type this up.
A word about bush camping sites - there have been lots of opportunities between Broome and here so far; although the trees and bushes are not tall they are pretty dense, albeit with sizeable flat sandy patches where the tent can be pitched. In keeping with most of the rest of Oz I’ve passed through there is cattle fencing between 100 and 200m from the edge of the road, nevertheless this margin is sufficient to hide a nice campsite.

DAY 269: Bush camp to bush camp 15km NE of Barn Hill t/o

2008-07-24T08:11:00.005+01:00

Sat 19th July 2008
76 km @ 13.6 km/hr
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of /destination 28 m
Distance to date 16299 km (10187 miles)

Utter peace and quiet last night - wonderful - in this excellent bush camp site. I heard a ‘roo thumping around in the night but couldn’t see it, as usual. There was also a small army of large ants surrounding the tent; presumably having found a few crumbs lying around they got interested - but a spray of repellent around the edge of the shade cloth kept them mostly at bay. I was very relaxed about setting off; I really don’t know what the wind is going to do but it seemed to be westerly this morning as it was yesterday. The predictable SE-erlies have gone.
The first 14km were through open land with no trees at all, and as I was initially heading SE the wind was on my right side, but as the road turned gradually to the SW the full force of the fresh W wind became apparent, hence the very slow speeds and low distance achieved today. I was in good form though, and occupied myself as I passed through yet more unchanging thin woodlands by, among other odd occupations, singing Shenandoah (aka Bryn Terfel) and Jesus to a child (aka George Michael), though not very well it has to be said. I got quite a few toots from motorists as usual, which is always a welcome distraction. I passed many thin trees bearing yellow worm-shaped flowers some 4 to 7cm long and 1cm diameter which smelled wonderful - acacia, a kind of wattle (pic). I also disturbed a large brown bird that I couldn’t identify.
After 26km in over 2 hours I stopped and put the billy on and had a coffee and sarnie, and took an hour over it. No point in killing myself in this headwind. Maximum speed was only 18 km/hr today - amazing. It is pretty flat though; nothing you could call a hill. There have, unusually, been a few clouds around today - not seen any for weeks; maybe the weather is going through a change.
I kept plodding along thus all day and by 1600 decided to call it a day. I had hoped to reach the Barn Hill caravan park turn-off and have a look whether the 9km gravel access road is possible - my bike book says (in 2002) it was deep sand and unrideable. As I understand it there is just a caravan park - no other settlement - but it’s by a gorgeous beach apparently and will be a LOT less crowded than Broome and possibly a nice place to chill for a day. I’m only an hour away so I’ll check it out in the morning.
I found a nice campsite again, mostly unseen from the road and good and flat, plus easy to get in and out with the bike.
Good news too is that the tabs I got from the hospital in Broome have sorted my gastric problems straight off - so it must have been a parasite likie giardia I guess. Saddle sores are prominent but I usually manage to find a comfy position. The knee is feeling much better too lately.

DAY 268: Broome to bush camp 8km S Roebuck RH

2008-07-24T08:11:00.004+01:00

Fri 18th July 2008
58km @ 16.5 km/hr
Sunny, 32 deg C
Elevation of /destination 18 m
Distance to date 16223 km (10139 miles)

pic of tent is Broome CP.

Last night was much quieter thankfully, and I slept OK. I took my time getting going this morning as there was no great rush, and left the site around 0930. I bought a few food essentials at Woolies and just about managed to fit this in, then cycled out the 2km to have a look at Roebuck Bay. I passed another caravan park, which was also bursting at the seams like all the others here, and didn’t fancy any more of that at all.
I had lunch at MacDonald’s, which is a very nice place to eat actually (!), an open al fresco terrace with lots of greenery, and yes, I did enjoy my chicken and cheese burger and chips and coke thank you!
I popped into the very busy tourist office and got a sheet of information about facilities between here and Port Hedland, which is the way I’m going. The staff had to handle an abusive old Aboriginal lady who insisted on getting served with a cold drink without having to queue like the whitefellas, but did it with great tact. I also checked that the roadhouses etc along my way are open to business.
I rode out of town after this, with a tinge of disappointment regarding Broome - I had high expectations of the place, and no doubt it is very pretty in (a few) parts, but the place is far too busy for my tastes, and there wasn’t that much to do or see either. It would be a great place to have a ‘proper’ holiday where you were treating yourself to nice meals out with a loved one for example, but it didn’t gel with my situation at all. I’m therefore well ahead of ‘schedule’ so look forward to finding some delightful places to linger on the way down the west coast of WA.
Around 15km east of town I came to the broome Bird Obsaervatory turnoff and taking this turn immediately hit a dusty and corrugated gravel road. It’s another 15km to the Observatory from the highway, so I gave it a km or so and then decided a hard 30km round trip didn’t match my motivation, and turned around again. I have to admit that my motivation is lower at the moment than it has been at any time over the past 9 months, but I hope it will return. Broome tired blues perhaps.
Anyway, I had a good NW tailwind so progress was good, however I decided to have a look at the Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Wildlife Park en route, and stumped up my $30 admission fee. It was really a zoo, but no-one likes to use that term any more, but it was clear that the owner takes a lot of problem and injured crocs and other animals and birds in, and is also breeding endangered species, so I can forgive him. I got bored with the man trying to goad the crocs into tearing a plastic ball to bits for the tourists cameras though, and was back on the road within a couple of hours. One thing I learnt though was the sound of the Barking Owl. I heard these at the caravan park at night, sounding exactly like a dog’s “woof woof”. The place was very clean and the animals looked in very good condition too.
By 1700 I was rolling into Roebuck Roadhouse, where it’s only $5 pppn to camp, but with daylight fading I was sure there were good bush campsites down the road - anyway it would be good to maximise km whilst the wind’s going my way. As the sun was disappearing I could see that further ahead was completely cleared, open country with little camping potential, so easily found a campsite just at the end of the wooded section. In fact it’s a cracking site - well hidden from the road, flat and smooth ground, and not tightly cramped by surrounding trees.
I just sat and had a cuppa and listened to the BBC World Service for a while as the light faded altogether, or rather, as the full moon’s light became superior to the sun’s. Bliss!

DAY 267: Day off Broome

2008-07-24T08:10:00.002+01:00

Thurs 17th July 2008
Sunny, 31 deg C
Elevation of /destination 20 m
Distance to date 16165 km (10103 miles)

My bad run with CP’s continues; my 3 Irish neighbours and several other friends or whatever they are, were up until 0200 talking and giggling loudly. I sound like a grumpy old man, but is it too much to expect 7 hours quiet for sleep? Apparently it is. What sleep I managed was intermittent and light. I felt sorry for a young son of one of the Irish girls who kept crying out in the night, but as far as I could perceive there were no words of comfort and it seemed he was just ignored. The adults were occupied with smoking pot judging by the sharp coughing and giggling, so it seemed.
Oh well, just gotta get on and do my day, and I cycled the 4km into the town centre - Chinatown is the main shopping area - to upload and have a look around. I used the Telecentre ($6/hr) which was very fast, then had a look at the Pearl Luggers (pearling boats) exhibition and a few of the rather expensive shops. Broome is the world centre for wild pearl harvesting, and has been for over a century. Aboriginal men used to dive without equipment in the 19th century, before the bends were understood, and many lost their lives.
To be honest I did Broome more or less to death this morning - it is a lovely place with beautiful blue seas and white sandy beaches, and palm trees, but after that it’s a bit yuppified; restaurants, pearl shops, postcards at $1.50 each etc.....and I find that somewhat boring. And it is so crowded that I feel quite lonely; a place to share with someone I guess. With Lyn and a wad of cash I would love to linger here!
So I did something practical and finally went to the hospital to see if I could sort out recurring diaorrhea. This has bothered me for several months on and off, and I think I may have a parasite like Giardia. Again I presented at Emergency Dept. and saw a doctor within the hour (much faster than my NHS experiences), and he agreed with my suspicions, and prescribed a ‘big hit’ parasite treatment - a one off dose of 4 tablets. So we’ll see if that sorts the problem.
I rolled over to the beach again for sunset and had a Toohey’s Old stubby whilst taking pics of people taking pics of people taking pics of the setting sun. I experimented with very slow shutter speeds when it was getting quite dark, including a pic of the moon and Venus together, and the results were better than expected I think.
My Irish neighbours are still around but hopefully they’ll be worn out after last night, and will go quietly to bed. In any case I’m outa here tomorrow, and probably outa Broome too - I may cycle out the 20km to the Broome Bird Observatory which is on the way I have to go back, and then possibly suss out a good stealth camping site out there, or otherwise ride the 34km back to Roebuck Roadhouse, where I turn right for the wild open and dry desert country and 600km to the next town, Port Hedland.

DAY 266: Bush camp to Broome

2008-07-17T03:13:00.002+01:00

60 km @ 17.4 km/hr
Weds 16th July 2008
Sunny, 31 deg C
Elevation of /destination 20 m
Distance to date 16165 km (10103 miles)

I was just settling down to sleep at around 9 last night in what felt to be a perfect and secluded camp, when I was jump-started into action by a deep orange glow some distance away - a bush fire! Ooops - is it coming this way? Well, that’s not very likely since there’s no wind at all, is it? Better err on the side of caution, so I spent a hectic 10 minutes packing everything away, apart from tent and sleeping bag, in case a quick exit is required. By the time I’d done this the glow seemed to have reduced so I kept a watching brief for half an hour. I understand that these fires, usually deliberately started at this time of the year to clear dead vegetation and make way for new growth, always go out by themsleves with the onset of night (dampness and still air). And indeed by 10 there was no sign of any fire so I was off the hook, and coud sleep in peace, which I did until 7 this morning. Apart from that drama this was a perfect camp; completely unseen from the road and I got in without being seen also.
It was very cold again and as I didn’t have a big ride today I lingered until the sun touched the tent, entertained by the early birds’ activities and calls. Mostly Honeyeaters which I’m not good at identifying.
I set off at 0815 onto a busy road with no tarmac shouder but a very loose gravel one, which when I had to use it to escape a roadtrain caused me to slide and slither down to the bottom of it, whereupon I had to get off the bike and then push it back up onto the road.
But I was feeling very positive and soon covered the 23km to Roebuck Roadhouse, and an iced coffee and piece of chocolate cake as reward for my efforts. From here it was some 35km to Broome town centre along a dead straight and mostly dead flat road, again with plenty of traffic around. The wind was SE and behind me most of the way, but approaching Broome it bends to the south into the wind. I went straight to check out the YHA ‘Award Winning’ Kimberly Klub hostel, where, as was the case with the YHA in Darwin, I was prepared to treat myself to a room for a few days. Unfortunately, as with Darwin, it was full. Next choice was the Vacation Village CP - also full (even to a little tent and bicycle). 5km away at the Tarangau Village CP I was offered a shadeless site (last site in the place) for a massive $32 (rip-off), and finally got one of the last sites at nearby Cable beach CP. This site wasn’t that shady at first look, but I managed to squeeze the tent under a couple of small palm trees up against the fence right in the corner of the park, which I was quite happy with. There’s a lovely big pool here and the whole place is very clean and modern - not bad for $13/nt compared to the other expensive sites here.
After setting up and showering I had a look at the gorgeous but crowded Cable Beach itself (idyllic, white sand, blue sea, said to be one of the world’s best beaches) then headed down to the large shopping complex 4km away for some serious Aladdin’s Caving. And I wasn’t disappointed either, some great shops and a large Woolworth’s with ‘proper’ supermarket prices after the ridiculous roadhouse prices. I was pleased to get a Daily Telegraph Weekly at the newsagents; a box of red wine at Woolies (first alcohol since Kununurra) and a great mango smoothie at Wendy’s ice cream shop. After the grocery shopping I went back there for a wonderful chocolate cherry ice cream - mmmmmm..... I think I like Broome!
There are plenty of good cycle tracks here too, including one all the way from the CP to the shopping centre. The town is very spread out and takes a bit of getting around by the looks of it. It is ram-jam-full at the moment, this being the height of the season here.
As I got back from the shops the sun was just disappearing over the sea, beautiful, and around 500 people were trying to photograph it. Back at the tent a line of 15 camels, led by a young English girl talking on her mobile, singled by. I think they’re for riding on but no takers tonight, unless they were being exercised.

DAY 265: Willare Bridge RH to bush camp 23km E Roebuck RH

2008-07-17T03:12:00.005+01:00

111 km @ 16.7 km/hr
Tues 15th July 2008
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of /destination 21 m
Distance to date 16105 km (10066 miles)

By morning I realised (again) I had made a mistake staying here. The Willare Bridge Roadhouse is a dump, and at $14 a relatively expensive dump. Hardly any grass; noisy generator right next to the camping area running all night; cracks all over the toilet block floor where cockroaches pop in and out; the maintenance guy driving like a maniac around the caravans raising loads of dust; dogs barking constantly, stink of rotting rubbish etc. etc. Worst thing is I realised what a good free bush camp there is opposite the roadhouse; in fact I saw 2 pairs of bicycle tracks going in there but don’t know how recent they are. Don’t know how I missed that - probably too intent on eating and drinking as usual on arrival! To add insult to injury the Freeloader family arrived late last night after the office had closed and of course pitched right beside me, and then rose at 0500 to get away before anyone saw them and asked them for money. All in all a disastrous night’s sleep and I felt whacked before I started today.
I got up soon after dawn then; no point in trying to grab sleep when most others are just getting up, and it was pretty cold at that time. Once underway at 0720 it started to warm up, and was of course blazing by 8!
Usually the act of starting the day’s ride motivates me, but this morning I felt pretty miserable, and all morning as I pottered along with a side wind up a seemingly endless draggy uphill I was in a bad place mentally. There was nothing external to lift me either, such as a nice colourful bird or frisky Wallaby. And my nether regions were very painful from a variety of saddle sores such that I could hardly sit down, which definitely didn’t help at all.
This went on for 59km until I finally arrived in the long-wished for rest area and I determined to have a long break, and even a nap. This did actually sort me out, and after 2 cuppas and sandwiches (including a delicious cream cheese and sun-dried tomato in canola oil variety which I haven’t tried before) and a good stretch out on the bench for half an hour, I was significantly more positive. And during the 90 minute break the wind turned into the east so was almost right behind me, so that felt good.
This feature of the wind up here to (usually) move clockwise around noon is important if I am to make things as easy as possible for myself effort-wise. There are some hard hot days after Broome through the Great Sandy Desert with no shade or water, so I’d be wise to ride when the wind is in my favour and minimise my exposure. For example I may ride in the afternoon and early evening when the wind is more of an advantage, rather than setting off in the morning as I usualy do.
The road was pretty bumpy again today and not kind to my bum at all, and whilst the surface is better in the middle of the road there was so much traffic that as soon as I got out there I had to jump back into the bumps repeatedly. At one point a huge Boab tree went past on a low loader with police escort, branches sticking out a very long way - wonder where that was going? Must have cost a fortune to move it this way so it must be a special tree in some way.
I had trouble finding a bush camping spot to my liking and made a few aborted sorties to investigate, but finally found this one with an hour to spare. It’s only about 60km into Broome from here so tomorrow should be easy. I’ll be spending a few days samping the delights of this famous place that everyone seems to love.

DAY 264: Bush camp to Willare Bridge Roadhouse

2008-07-17T03:12:00.004+01:00

110 km @ 20.5 km/hr
Mon 14th July 2008
Sunny, 31 deg C
Elevation of /destination 20 m
Distance to date 15994 km (9996 miles)

A wonderfully quiet night but it became very cold indeed in the middle of the night - I couldn’t get warm enough before I realised that the zip was undone on the sleeping bag, so the heat was escaping! Zipping up improved things considerably, and I must have got 10 hours sleep in the end.
I took my time getting ready despite the sun blazing full-on, there being no eastern shade at this time. Away at 0830, the wind was behind me, and quite fresh, but a draggy 3% climb for 10km kept speed down. I was having trouble finding a comfortable seating position due to the sores, which are on both sides. Once at the top of this ‘hill’ I speeded up and somehow forgot about the soreness for a good while (funny how I seem to dwell on them more when under ‘pressure’)!
Although my HEMA map said there was a rest area after 50-odd km, it came at 36 km! It was a cracker though with the tables shaded by the biggest Boab I’ve seen so far, in fact one of the biggest trees I’ve ever seen. It was 20km around the base, which means around 7m (23’) diameter. It was completely hollow inside with a space the size of a medium-sized room; many of such spaces were used to hold prisoners in days of yore. Although it was windy I was able to set the stove to leeward of the giant and enjoyed a nice cuppa, and ubiquitous jam butty. It’s a great shame that such a venerable living thing - possibly 3000 years old - has been extensively defaced by stupid people carving their names into it. The same goes for some examples of huge lone rocks at the side of the road which have been similarly covered in graffiti.
Continuing, the wind was now right behind me and blowing me along at over 30 once more - whooppee! I ate the km up for a couple of hours through the same skinny woodland that I’ve been seeing for days, with the road being mostly flat, with occasional modest undulations. The road was in reasonable state but a little bumpy in parts. The shoulder was gravel and was sometimes firm and sometimes loose, so one has to be wary jumping off to let traffic pass. There were more roadtrains today - mostly cattle trucks in this predominantly beef farming area - but they bothered me little.
I turned left at the junction with the Derby to Broome road, and had a moment of reconsideration as to whether I should visit the former or not, but remembering the lack of anything of interest to me in the guide book I was content to forego the pleasures, if any, of the place.
Anyway, just 13km west was the Willare Bridge Roadhouse, and I needed a shower and to get washing done, not to mention a rare couple of beers and dinner out for a change (food stocks were a little depleted), so I checked in here (expensive $14 pppn). After paying and seeing the site I wasn’t too impressed, it’s a bit scruffy and dusty, and there’s a generator loudly droning away (no mains power here of course), but not to worry, it’s only for 1 night. And they did have some beautiful iced coffee and tasty apple pies which compensated considerably.

DAY 263: Fitzroy Crossing to bush camp 121 km W

2008-07-17T03:11:00.004+01:00

121 km @ 18.8 km/hr
Sun 13th July 2008
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of /destination 72 m
Distance to date 15884 km (9927 miles)

After a somewhat sluggish start I left FC at 0810 for more remote Outback kms. The thin woodlands predominated all day, other than some completely cleared land in the first 20km. After this the scenery changeth not - one km looks exactly like the next, and the one before it, and there was nothing to break up this predominance other than a rest area after 87km. As usual there are no buildings; it’s just nothingness apart from odd grazing cattle.
The road has deteriorated to lumpy surface and no shoulder, though there’s not enough traffic to make that a problem. The wind was pretty vague in the morning, SE and light and on my left side or just behind, but after about 10km the road climbed very steadily for another 10km, although you couldn’t tell by looking at it - it looked dead flat to the vanishing point 5km away, which makes for very unrewarding and tiresome riding. Consequently I went through quite a bad patch for a while, until things improved later on.
From 40km I was searching for a stopping (brewing up) place, but it was fully 50km before I found one and took a break sat on my helmet, as there was nothing else.
I was very glad to pull into the rest area at 87km, and enjoyed a chat with a caravanner guy whist boiling the billy. I stayed a full hour and felt much better for it. This guy was telling me about another cyclist he met near Ayers Rock a few years ago who was pulling 3 trailers behind his bike, full of junk such as a brush, rake, mop, home-made sink etc., the total weight of which was 600kg!! What an eccentric lot we are eh? This cyclist was apparently still able to make 50km a day!
After the rest area the road bends to the north west a little so the SE-er was fully behind me, and speed picked up considerably. I had no trouble finding a camp site, although once settled in a jeep with 4 or 5 aboriginal guys stopped nearby, and I though they saw me, which I hate - oh well, too late now!
I saw a few new birds today, including a gorgeous Crimson Finch this morning, and what I think is a Grey Honeyeater this evening. There are still few animals around judging by the lack of roadkill, other than millions of cattle, who stare in disbelief as I pass.
The saddle sores were excrutiating for a while this morning, but settled down in the afternoon. My left knee is stiff and sore in the mornings but doesn’t hurt while I’m pedalling. Health report complete..oh, apart from repetitive doses of the trots....

DAY 262: Day off in Fitzroy Crossing

2008-07-17T03:11:00.003+01:00

42 km @ 18.2 km/hr
Sat 12th July 2008
Sunny, 29 deg C
Elevation of /destination 125 m
Distance to date 15763 km (9852 miles)

After breakfast with teachers from Taiwan I set off on the 20km ride to Geikie Gorge NP. The road is fairly flat Savannah woodland and very quiet of course. 3km from the end of the road one enters the NP and a few mountains hove into view. I was half an hour early for the 1100 1 hour cruise on the Fitzroy River run by the NP Rangers ($25).
The gorge through which the river runs was formed from limestone, laid down millions of years ago when this was an ocean bed. Erosion and geological forces have crafted a diverse range of patterns in the rock, which is a whitish colour as far up as the ‘normal’ flood level in the Wet i.e. around 15m. We saw dozens of freshwater crocodiles swimming and lying around in the sun, which as a rule do not bother man, unlike the saltwater variety that are much bigger.
After the cruise I went off on the 4km round-trip river walking trail, which runs along the base of one side of the gorge wall, where it’s easier to see the eroded and weathered patterns of the rock face than from the boat. There are plenty of interpretation panels describing the flora, fauna and geology of the gorge, and a variety of birds and butterflies flitting around. Very enjoyable; but hardly anyone else from the cruise did the walk too, which is a shame. Anyway it was all the more peaceful for that! As usual it was perfect weather - blue skies, sunny, nice and warm - I shall really miss this climate!
It was somewhat harder work cycling back, and for a while I though the wind was in the west (oh no!), but it must have just been a local anomaly because the SE-er returned later.
I felt pretty whacked on returning, and was quite saddle sore too again. Nevertheless I collected the bag I had left with reception at the caravan park and rode the 2km down to the Fitzroy Lodge to use their internet ($6/hr). Blogger was playing up and kept refusing to upload my images, but eventually it worked and I was up to date again.
I nearly had a disaster coming back to the CP in the dark when I hit a bump in the road on the Fitzroy River Bridge and the bar bag flew off and landed in the road in front of me, whereupon I ran straight over it. I almost lost control of the bike at speed, but managed to hang on, then I was concerned in case the contents were damaged, but the camera and other stuff were OK.
I had been planning dinner at the (only) pub tonight but was just too tired to be bothered, and anyway it being Saturday night the place would be very busy, so I resorted to a very nice sweet pepper tuna / mashed potato / fried veg combo made by moi. Shame I have no wine, but all off-sales have been banned in Fitzroy Crossing due to all the trouble with drunkeness here. It’s a hotbed of aboriginal problems from what I have gathered. As I type there’s a party going on in the township behind the park with VERY loud music to boot. Ear plugs at the ready, and a lovely peaceful bush camp tomorrow!

DAY 261: Bush camp to Fitzroy Crossing

2008-07-12T10:09:00.002+01:00

88 km @ 15.5 km/hr

Fri 11th July 2008

Sunny, 31 deg C

Elevation of /destination 125 m

Distance to date 15721 km (9826 miles)

When I saw my campsite in daylight it didn’t look so bad and exposed as it did last night - it was hidden by a bund at the side of the road. Last night wasn’t as cold thankfully. I was awake at fist light i.e. 0540, determined to get away earlier today to give me more time in Fitzroy Crossing, which I reckoned I might reach in a little over 4 hours by yesterdays standards, but how wrong can you be?!

I packed up carefully to avoid stirring up the bulldust too much - it’s so very fine it’s liable to get everywhere. The first 15km was easy enough even with the wind gentle still at this early hour, but after that the road bent to the north as the wind developed from a NE direction - the first time I can recall this. I have been told that NE winds prevail on the west coast this time of the year, so perhaps this is the start of it. Anyway it made the next 30 or 40 km very hard work - from the heady 40 km/hr of yesterday I was grovelling at 14, and down to 9 on the worst stretch.

The road was almost flat with a little rise every 3km or so, such that you could only see that far, and I hoped that over the rise the road would bend back to the left, but it kept bending to the right instead, and I got slower. The lack of tree cover at the side of the road for the most part meant the wind hit at full strength. At last nirvana; the road went left and life got easier, but still far from yesterday’s joys.

The lack of trees meant I could see far to the horizon, and the land was predominantly flat with odd single mountains looming in the far distance. Road condition was very good, and it seems it has been upgraded recently, including a good shoulder. Only for the last 12km did the road deteriorate in quality.

I stopped after 40km and found a nice shady tree to rest and refresh under, which was very welcome after the hard effort into the wind. Nearly 6 hours after setting off I finally rolled into FC feeling pretty whacked, but a couple of iced coffees and a steak pie (well, gravy only pie actually) revived me a little, as a couple of small black children talked to me outside the supermarket, where litter was ankle deep. The library charges a massive $12/hr for internet - a rip-off - but apparently it’s only $6/hr at the Fitzroy Lodge so I’ll go there tomorrow.

I decided to stay at the caravan park just next to the shops ($11 pppn) and found a shady spot. It’s pretty busy so I won’t quite have the peace of the bush tonight.

DAY 260: Bush camp to bush camp 88 km SE of Fitzroy Crossing

2008-07-12T10:08:00.008+01:00

180 km @ 22.1 km/hr

Thurs 10th July 2008

Sunny, 29 deg C

Elevation of /destination 198 m

Distance to date 15633 km (9771 miles)

Another quiet night in a good bush camp. It was pretty cold again outside, but I was just about warm enough all togged up in the bag, and remained there while I ate breakfast, during which the sun burst forth again.

Once on the road it was evident that it was going to be a good day - fresh easterly with me travelling SW; the return of an upgraded road with good shoulder, and mostly pancake flat. There was also a gradual descent of 200m or so, and at one point early on I was making 40 km/hr without pushing - a record!

Initial plain Savannah landscape was replaced with a stretch of weird mountains made up of large boulders, which were very photogenic, before the former returned. At noon I was pulling into Mary River rest area after a fastest-ever (on this tour) 85km in 3 hrs 45 mins. I lingered in this quite pleasant place for an hour, making tea and sandwiches, and chatting to the caravanners who passed me this morning “are you here already?”.... Mary River is just about dried out with a small billabong presumably fed by water is still running down in the sandy bed. This 80m-wide river will be a raging torrent once the Wet starts in December or so. All the creeks and rivers have been dry ever since the Ord at Kununurra.

At 1300 I set off again and did more of the same hurtling gleefully downwind with little effort. After a draggy climb from Mary River the road was flat again with long ‘vanishing point’ straits. Before I knew it I was past 160km (100 miles) and as the sun was low I started looking for a camping spot. It wasn’t easy, and I passed a rest area thinking i’d easily find somewhere as has been usual of late, but after dropping down from the beautiful red Ngumpan Cliffs the thinly-vegetated valley floor was full of tussocky Spinafex - ugh - nowhere to pitch without being in full view of the road, which I hate. At last as it was almost dark, I plumped for the side of the road, some 60m back behind a few straggly trees, ankle-deep in bulldust, and (dryish) cow poo all over the place! I had no choice; didn’t want to be looking in the dark!

Anyhow, the piece of shade cloth went down first as usual and blinded off most of the dust - If I’m careful it won’t get in the tent.

There hasn’t been much in the way of wildlife during the last few days; perhaps because of the dryness of everything. This includes ants, and also mozzies, that I haven’t seen for a fortnight; but not bush flies, who still follow me everywhere and force me to resort to the net most days when there’s a tailwind. There is the odd roadkilled Wallaby though, and plenty of cattle - this is the main industry around here.

I should make Fitzroy Crossing by midday tomorrow so being Friday I should still be able to upload if there’s an internet place, and I may stay a couple of nights and go and see Geikie Gorge.

DAY 259: Bush camp to bush camp 20 km SW of Hall’s Creek

2008-07-12T10:08:00.007+01:00

74 km @ 16.5 km/hr

Weds 9th July 2008

Sunny, 28 deg C

Elevation of /destination 411 m

Distance to date 15453 km (9658 miles)

I stayed huddled in sleeping bag a while after dawn due to the chill which fell overnight - it must have been close to zero I think. I awoke very cold at around 0200 and donned another pair of trousers and top, plus my sunhat, ironically. Even then I was barely warm enough. Tonight I’ll erect the tent outer cover, which I didn’t do yesterday, and maybe it will retain some heat (no, really, it does!!). The higher altitude may be lowering temperatures, and tonights camp is a bit higher again.

Even after setting off it was still cool for the first few km, until the physical effort warmed me up. I’m not likely to see many such cold nights, and it isn’t worth carrying extra warm gear just for these occasions in my mind.

The first 30km were pretty tedious, due south so that the SE-er was a headwind, and a continuation of the Tobleroning, with the climb out usually gaining another few metres of height. I wasn’t feeling too enthusiastic this morning, to put it gently; I’d have preferred to lie around the pool and do nothing! Still, after 30km the road bent to the west a little and put the fresh wind on the left side, which was slightly more comfortable.

The road was quite busy, and pretty narrow where unmodernised, which accounted for most of it. Scenery has degenerated somewhat into patchy Savannah again, with a few feeble mountains in the distance.

After what seemed an interminable ride I landed in Hall’s Creek and busied myself with lots of tasks - internet (fast connection at the Telecentre and no charge!); topping up food supplies (I overdid it actually and had a job fitting it all in without squashing the new loaf); taking on 10 litres of water (there’s nothing at all between here and Fitzroy Crossing 280km away); phoning Lyn, and doing lunch. Oh, and remembering to draw some cash from the post office (no bank ATM in town). There seems to be a large black population here, the newest member of whom was around a week old, wide eyed, big shock of black hair, and in front of me in the post office queue in ithe arms of grandparents; very cute! I also looked at a statue of a man pushing another man sat in a wheelbarrow in the square, and the plaque told of Jack, who in 1885 pushed his badly injured friend 300km to the nearest hospital along uncharted roads! What a friend!!

I quit town feeling up at around 1500 with a good tailwind - the road had veered a little more to the west - but only rode 2km when I saw an odd group walking along the grassy shoulder of the road. When I got closer I saw that it was a group of some half dozen people each leading a camel, and as I slowed down to take a piccy a lady came over to talk to me. They were a group of friends who had just started a 2500km+ trek to Melbourne by camel! They expect this to take 18 months and havae been planning it for a long time, she said. They had led the camels right away from the road having seen me coming - as with horses and cattle, camels are often afraid of cyclists - she confirmed it was because we are silent, whereas noisy cars don’t seem to bother them all, surprisingly. They were going to take the Tamani track which turns off to the left 16km from Hall’s Creek. I forgot to ask if they have a website; I would like to know how they get on.

That excitement over I continued to enjoy the bracing tailwind, and was managing twice the speed of this morning on a dead straight and flat road - we seem to have seen the last of the hills for now, although still up at 400m ASL or so.

With an hour of light left I pulled off where the bush was thickish, and found a flat area to pitch; a little close to the road but mostly obscured I think.

I didn’t stay in Hall’s Creek itself as there wasn’t much of interest to me, and I’d rather camp in the bush anyway. Also, I’d like to get on as quickly as possible so as to spend more time on the very interesting west coast - Broome, the Pilbara, and Ningaloo reef to mention but 3 places. I also want to have at least a week at the end to explore Perth, Freemantle, and Rottnest Island.

After some 3 hours doing all this, and enjoying some good nattering en route.

DAY 258: Turkey Creek Roadhouse to bush camp 58km N of Hall’s Creek

2008-07-09T05:47:00.002+01:00

113 km @ 14.9 km/hr
Tues 8th July 2008
Sunny, 30 deg C
Elevation of /destination 366 m
Distance to date 15379 km (9612 miles)

My caravan park jinx continued last night when some blackfellas turned up at 2330 and noisily put their tents up near mine, but after a while I blanked it out and must have fell asleep. They woke me again at 0530 as they got up again and dismantled their tents, so what the hell, it was starting to come light so I got up too. It was windy in the night, unusually, and it quickly strengthened with dawn’s light to fresh to strong.
Once underway I was pleased to find that the wind was just behind me, but only just, and a slight turn to the left negated any advantage. The advantage held for the first 80km so I made better progress than yesterday, however it was more hilly today. The road hardly ever staightens and is a series of long bends and Toblerone hills - small hills, but each descent was followed by a slightly bigger climb up which accounts for the 300m or so increase in altitude today. At 25km there is a steeper climb for 3 or 4km, around 4 to 6% I’d guess. I was feeling good though and just kept on going. The road topped out at 460m ASL.
A covered and seated rest area at 57km adjacent to the Bungle Bungle junction was very welcome, and I had tea and peanut butter and jam butties. I missed this yesterday. There was supposed to be another rest area at 97km or so but I never found it. In any case at around 95km the road direction changes from SW to S, so the SE/E wind was now a little in front, and as it was pretty strong this slowed me considerably.
The road is pretty narrow on this stretch, and I had to get off to let road trains through a few times. The surface isn’t too great either at times.
By 90km I was more than ready for a cuppa again, and finally found a shady group of trees by a creek where I could satisfy that need. After that with an hour to dusk (1730) I had trouble finding the right camping spot, but again a dry creek area had a decent site - only drawback is the large number of cattle around here - there’s as many outside the fence and on the highway as there is on the other side. Fingers crossed. At 1900 as I’m typing this it’s become very cold, and I’ll put extra clothing on tonight.